JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Raney Richardson Sr. has been charged with sexual battery after an incident that reportedly occurred 33 years ago, according to an arrest report.
Richardson was 34 years old at the time. The female victim was in 4th grade.
On Oct. 4 of this year, officers responded to the 1300 block of Domas Drive in reference to an active warrant.
The warrant revealed how the victim in this case told police that she was left in the suspect's care to spend the night. During the course of the evening, the victim said that Richardson woke her up while she was sleeping, put his hand over her mouth and sexually assaulted her.
This happened while Richardson's children were asleep, who were in the same room, according to the report.
While at the Police Memorial Building, investigative efforts were taken and the victim contacted Richardson via phone on a recorded line. Richardson apologized to the victim. It's unknown when this call took place.
"Why did you do that to me?" She asked.
"I don't know what happened. I don't know what was going on during that..." Richardson answered. "You're gonna be okay."
During the phone call, Richardson said he remembered 'some stuff happened' but that it was so long ago he didn't remember exactly. The victim told Richardson that he destroyed her life. She said her mother didn't believe her when it happened.
"You did that to me!" The victim told Richardson. "You took my innocence from me! You changed my life!"
First Coast News talked to Erin Wolfson, an Assistant State's Attorney and one of the Division Chiefs in the Special Victims Unit. She said it is rare when a victim comes forward immediately after they have been sexually assaulted.
"Often times it actually is very freeing for them to come forward and disclose and talk to law enforcement and eventually speak with a prosecutor about what happened," Wolfson said.
Regardless of how much time has passed, Wolfson encourages survivors to of sexual assault to speak up. She said the statute of limitations in Florida can be complicated.
"There are lots of nuances to it, including: when the crime happened, how old the victim was, when it was reported, if there's DNA involved. The list goes on in terms of what facts we have to look at as prosecutors." Wolfson explained.
As for Richardson, he is being held on a $250,003 bond. Police believe there could be more victims. He was also in 1994 for “sex offense against child, fondling”