Man who imitated cop sentenced for child porn

Man who imitated cop sentenced for child porn


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — An man known around his Orem apartment complex as Lieutenant D will spend 19 years behind bars for secretly making sexually explicit videos of children.

Judge Dee Benson issued the sentence to David Morris Richards, 55, in U.S. District Court on Tuesday. Richards earlier pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography.

Richards led people to believe he was a police officer, had a uniform and a badge, and kept red and blue lights in his car, according to court documents. He enticed young children into his apartment with money, toys and candy. He offered them drinks until they had to use the bathroom, where he surreptitiously taped them with cameras and computer equipment.

Man who imitated cop sentenced for child porn

A woman visiting the complex where Richards had lived for 17 years saw him talking with a young girl behind a tree. His body language and the way he looked around struck her as odd so she called the Orem Police Department, which launched an investigation last year.

In an agreement with Richards, federal prosecutors recommended a 17-year sentence, subject to Benson's approval. Federal prosecutors agreed to the sentence in an effort to keep the young victims from having to testify in a trial.

After discussions and negotiations in court, Benson imposed the 19-year prison sentence.

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Dennis Romboy

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast