Crime & Safety

Babysitter Child Pornography Case

Alexander Richter, charged with molesting the children he had offered to babysit, faces more than 1,000 years in prison if convicted. Latest info on the case can be found here.

Alexander Richter could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted of making child pornography in his Jacato Drive apartment. He was a student at Gateway Techincal College when he offered to babysit the children of his fellow students. 

But police say he wasn't caring for the children — he was abusing them. 

Police have named six victims, and say Richter took sexually explicit photographs of the children and made video recordings of him abusing them. 

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The mother of two of the children contacted authorities when they began exhibiting sexually inappropriate behavior at home. The investigation led them to Richter, who was charged Nov. 12 with 26 felony counts including repeated sexual assault of a child, sexual exploitation of a child, and possession of child pornography. Additional charges were added later when more victims were identified.

Richter faces more than 1,000 years in prison if convicted. 

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The latest

Richter pleaded not guilty to all 49 charges when he waived his preliminary hearing on Nov. 21. He appeared in court March 25 for a status conference during which his lawyer, Margaret Johnson, told Judge Timothy Boyle the defense continues to investigate the charges against Richter.

She requested another status conference in 45 days, and that was granted. 

What's next

Richter's next status conference is scheduled for May 20. At that conference, both the prosecution and the defense will most likely give the judge an update on how their respective trial preparations are going. If necessary, they will schedule another status conference or perhaps move to a pre-trail hearing.


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