State of Indiana vs. Todd Richardson

MEDIA RELEASE

Release:           Immediate

                        January 28, 2016

Lebanon, Boone County, Indiana – Prosecuting Attorney Todd J. Meyer announced today that

according to the five count Charging Information filed in Boone Circuit Court, The Honorable Judge Jeff Edens presiding, Todd M. Richardson has been charged in a rape case dating back to June 1990. 

These charges arise out of a cold case investigation conducted by the Lebanon Police Department with assistance from the Indiana State Police Crime Lab.    

The Criminal Information alleges that Todd M. Richardson committed the crimes of Attempted Rape, a Class A Felony; Criminal Deviate Conduct, a Class A Felony; Criminal Confinement, a Class B Felony; Burglary, a Class B Felony; and Intimidation, a Class C Felony. 

On June 12, 1990, a Lebanon resident was attacked and sexually assaulted in her own home.  The victim reported that a man broke into her house, threatened her with a knife and forced her to submit to sexual acts.  She was not able to see her attacker, but noted that his voice was familiar to her.  She also reported that he called her by a nickname that only her friends used.  Despite his warning not to report the attack, she immediately called a friend of hers who then called police.  Law enforcement responded and began to investigate the crime.  Officers collected a number of items from the home and requested that the victim submit to a sexual assault examination.  That examination yielded what is commonly referred to as a “rape kit”.  The rape kit included bodily samples and swabs taken from the victim’s body.  Due to limited technology at the time, not much information could be developed from the rape kit.  However, it was preserved and held as evidence for possible future testing.    Law enforcement continued to investigate the matter and follow various leads, but were unable to determine who assaulted the victim.

In 2008, the Indiana State Police Crime Lab contacted the Lebanon Police Department.  They advised that due to advancements in forensic science, they were reviewing old files to determine if they were able to obtain DNA evidence in those files.  ISP requested permission to test the rape kit collected in this matter in 1990.  After processing the rape kit and other items of evidence collected from the scene, scientists were able to develop a DNA profile for an unknown male.  That result was entered into the FBI’s Combined DNA index System (CODIS).  CODIS is a national database that contains the DNA of convicted offenders from across the United States.  The profile of the unknown male was compared to the known profiles contained in CODIS, but was not a match to any known profile at that time.

DNA profiles are continually being added to the CODIS database.  As these profiles are added, the unknown profiles continue to be compared to the database to determine if there is a match.  In October 2015, the Lebanon Police Department received word that there was a match in this case.  Todd Richardson’s DNA had recently been collected and entered into the CODIS database.  His DNA profile matched the DNA profile collected from the rape kit and other evidence in this case.  With this lead, the Lebanon Police Department reopened their investigation into the matter.  Detectives reached out to the victim in the case.  Through conversations with her, they were able to establish a connection between the victim and the suspect, Todd Richardson.  As a result of their continued investigation, the State filed charges against Todd Richardson including Attempted Rape, Criminal Deviate Conduct, Burglary, Confinement and Intimidation. 

“It is very, very rewarding to be able to file this case so many years after its occurrence in order to see that justice can be done for the victim of these horrible acts that were committed against her” said Prosecuting Attorney Todd J. Meyer.  “It is proof that the collection of DNA from convicted felons works to help solve crime.”  “I believe this case represents the third or fourth case in as many years that my office has prosecuted where we have been able to bring charges against a person for crimes he/she committed in the past, which would have otherwise gone unsolved.” 

Prosecutor Meyer further stated:  “At present, there are two Bills, to my knowledge, that are related to taking DNA samples from certain arrestees, that have been introduced at the General Assembly during the current session.”  These Bills are as follows:

HB 1015 DNA samples from felony arrestees (Rep. Bauer, Co-Authors: Rep. Steuerwald, Rep. McNamara, and Rep. Goodin): https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2016/bills/house/1015#document-ea220454 

SB 191 Use of DNA evidence (Senator Zakas): https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2016/bills/senate/191#document-857f5709

“Based on my experiences in being able to bring criminals to justice years after the fact through the collection and entry of their DNA into CODIS upon conviction, I strongly support this type of legislative effort to enact a law that would enable law enforcement to collect DNA from persons arrested for the alleged commission of a crime. If this tool was available to law enforcement, this simple truth exists – more crimes would be solved, more criminals would be held accountable, and justice would be done.”

If convicted of all charges Richardson faces a maximum penalty of 148 years in prison and $50,000 in fines.

An initial hearing on the information will be scheduled before the Honorable Jeff Edens, Judge of the Boone Circuit Court today at 2:30 p.m.

This investigation is active and ongoing.

The Charging Information is an allegation only, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at trial or by guilty plea.