Here We Go Again! SC preacher, Dale Richardson, accused of raping women behind church

APBy BRUCE SMITH - Associated Press | AP – 22 hrs ago
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In a Thursday, Aug. 18, 2011 photo, pastor Dale Richardson attends his bond hearing in Summerville, S.C. Richardson is charged with sexually assaulting three women. A magistrate denied bond Thursday for Richardson. (AP Photo/Bruce Smith)
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An Aug. 16, 2011 photo shows a trailer behind the Freedom Free Will Baptist Church in Ladson, S.C., where former pastor Dale Richardsonof Summerville is alleged to have sexually assaulted two women. A magistrate denied bond Thursday for Richardson. (AP Photo/Bruce Smith)

LADSON, S.C. (AP) — Dale Richardson was saved at a tent revival 32 years ago, was called to preach the Lord's word in 2006 and, for the past year, had served as pastor at Freedom Free Will Baptist Church, a modest red brick structure on a South Carolina side road running along a railroad track.

Now he's in jail, charged with kidnapping and raping three women at gunpoint — two of them in a trailer behind the church — and kidnapping a fourth who was not sexually assaulted.

According to an incident report, about noon on a Saturday last month, Richardson picked up a woman and gave her a ride. When the 20-year-old tried to get out of the car, Richardson allegedly pulled a gun, bound her hands, covered her head and took her to the gray-blue trailer home behind the church.

The report said he later dropped the woman in a wooded area, threatening to shoot her if she turned around. Police said the woman was able to identify Richardson from his picture on the church website, which also displays a short biography detailing how he became a Christian and then a pastor.

Richardson has since been charged with two other similar sexual assaults, both of which occurred last year. He is accused of bringing one of those women to the church trailer. The third woman claims she was raped in a wooded area outside nearby Summerville, a bedroom community about 20 miles northwest of Charleston. He is also charged with kidnapping a fourth woman.

Richardson said little last week when, dressed in a gray and white striped prison jump suit with his ankles and wrists shackled, he appeared before a Dorchester County magistrate on the latest charges. He said he understood the charges against him and was denied bond when the magistrate said he was a danger to society.

Richardson's public defender said it's too soon to comment on the case. During his initial bond hearing when he was first arrested, Richardson said he has a spotless record and will put up a strong defense.

Maj. John Garrison of the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office said serial rape cases are unusual in the area. He said this case is drawing particular interest because the suspect is a preacher.

Garrison, then at the Charleston County Sheriff's Department, helped investigate the so-called Lowcountry serial rapist that attracted national headlines two decades ago. Authorities believe Duncan Proctor, who was convicted of two rapes and burglaries and sentenced to life in prison, may have raped as many as 30 women between March 1990 and June 1992.

Most neighbors on the quiet cul-de-sac where Richardson lived in a neat yellow house refused to talk last week. But Mary Milligan, who lives two doors away, came to Richardson's defense.

"I don't believe any of this. I have never had a problem with him. He's kind. He's a member of this community. He mows the neighbors' lawns. I am just blown away by all these accusations," she said.

There was no one home at the Richardson residence, where a paving stone beside the walkway is inscribed "Believe in God. Believe also in me. John 14:1."

The church website says Richardson became pastor of the church on June 9, 2010. It says he graduated from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. — the college founded by evangelical preacher Jerry Falwell — and has a wife and two grown daughters.

But his name has now been removed from the sign outside the church that has a congregation of about 50 people. Those attending last Wednesday night's service who were willing to be interviewed did not condemn Richardson.

"He's always been a real sweet person. He's always taught God's word," said Virginia Davis, who has been attending the church about a year. "He's been honest with me since Day 1. I'd let him look me right in the face and tell me he did it, because I don't believe he did it."

The Rev. Dean Mandrell, who has been helping by preaching at one of the church's three weekly services, said the congregation has drawn closer.

"Nobody is leaving, they are staying right here. They are just worshipping God. They are not condemning. They are not tearing down or poor-mouthing or bad-mouthing him," he said.

Mandrell's Wednesday sermon was about judging others, based on Matthew's biblical account of the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus says people with a log in their own eye should not be concerned about the speck in another's eye.

The South Carolina Free Will Baptist State Association has suspended Richardson's preaching credentials pending the outcome of the investigations because "the misconduct alleged against him is forbidden by God." The Rev. Todd Smith, executive director of the statewide association numbering almost 120 churches, said in a statement the association would cooperate with investigators.

"Our prayers are with all involved," he said.

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Dale Richardson, a South Carolina Baptist preacher, is facing three charges of kidnapping and rape that took place in a home behind his church. Allegedly, three women were kidnapped and raped at gun point while a fourth was kidnapped and never raped. While the conservative preacher sits behind bars, his congregation is shocked and overwhelmed with disbelief.

Police say the 32-year-old graduate of Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, picked up a 20-year-old woman just last month to giver her a ride. When she tried to get out of his vehicle, Pastor Dale Richardson pulled a gun. He bound her hands and took her to a mobile home behind his church where she was raped. He also has been charged in two similar incidents that occurred last year.

Incidents of sexual predation, among southern evangelical groups, seldom reach the news. This probably explains the utter disbelief and shock expressed by members of the pastor's congregation. "I don't believe any of this. I have never had a problem with him. He's kind. He's a member of this community. He mows the neighbors' lawns. I am just blown away by all these accusations," said Mary Milligan, one of Dale Richardson's neighbors.

Virginia Davis, who attends the pastor's Freedom Free Will Baptist Church said, "He's always been a real sweet person. He's always taught God's word," said Virginia Davis, who has been attending the church about a year. "He's been honest with me since Day 1. I'd let him look me right in the face and tell me he did it, because I don't believe he did it." However, it is clear the congregation has separated itself from Dale Richardson by removing his name as pastor from a sign in front of the small red brick 50-member church.

There has been much discussion over the years about the sexual exploits exposed from conservative political and religious groups. While some assert that such groups foster an impossible code of behavior that creates a breeding ground for deviant sexual activity, it seems members of these groups are fond of saying "We aren't perfect. We are just forgiven." Detractors of such political and religious philosophies will most certainly want to use the case of Dale Richardson to prove their points. However we must be reminded, this case is not about Pastor Dale Richardson or the ideas he used to represent.

This case is clearly about the victims. Predatory sexual acts are about power not a sexual issue. They are about mental unbalance and emotional problems. They are acts of violence against the victims who will carry the scars of their attacks. Baptist, Catholic or Atheist is not the issue. Cruel and violent behavior is found throughout humanity. It is time we all took a more responsible position on these issues and do whatever we can to lessen their occurrences.

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Dale Richardson loses ministerial credentials
By David MacDougall
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Sunday, August 14, 2011

A state association of Free Will Baptist congregations has suspended the ministerial credentials of Dale Richardson, saying that the misconduct he is accused of is forbidden by God.

Richardson, 46, of Myrtle Way in Summerville, had been serving as pastor at Freedom Free Will Baptist Church in Ladson up until he was arrested July 28 on the first of several criminal charges.

He is accused of kidnapping at least three prostitutes from the Ashley Phosphate Road area of North Charleston and taking two of them to a trailer on church grounds and raping them there. The third woman was released without having been sexually assaulted, law-enforcement reports say.

Richardson is being held in the Charleston County jail on more than $1 million bail and faces charges filed by police in North Charleston and Summerville as well as the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office. Bond was denied on the charges filed by Summerville police and by the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office.

On Saturday, the Rev. Todd Smith, executive secretary of the S.C. Free Will Baptist Association, released a statement from the group's executive committee, which has suspended Richardson's credentials pending the final outcome of the investigation.

Smith asked that the statement be released in its entirety. Here is the full text:

"Our leadership was shocked to learn of the allegations made against Dale Richardson. According to our statement of faith, we believe that the misconduct alleged against him is forbidden by God.

"At this time, the Eastern Conference Executive Committee and Ordaining Council have decided to suspend Rev. Richardson's credentials pending the final outcome of the investigation. We plan to cooperate with law enforcement authorities in their on-going investigation.

"Our prayers are with all involved. As Free Will Baptists who are a part of the National Association of Free Will Baptists we believe that the highest authority is the local church; Color me Confused!! Wouldn't the "highest authority" be God?" therefore, we are not denominationally connected in local church government and oversight. Our prayers are with the Freedom Free Will Baptist Church leadership as they make decisions and lead their church during this time."

Attempts to contact anyone from the local congregation have been unsuccessful, but on Wednesday, Richardson's name was removed from a marquee outside the church, which is on Lincolnville Road. He is still listed as the pastor on the church's website.

The Free Will Baptist denomination is not affiliated with the nation's largest Baptist group, the Southern Baptist Convention.

According to the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, there were about 186,000 Free Will Baptist members nationwide in 2007, the last year for which statistics were available. The Southern Baptist Convention had more than 16 million members in the same year.

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I hope I don't sound crass but if these gals are prostitutes, I would think they would not be raped..unless he refused to pay them. :scratch: Is he married, kids????

By David MacDougall
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Friday, August 19, 2011

Dale Richardson seemed comfortable in his own skin Thursday. The suspected serial rapist smiled and joked with detention officers who were guarding him in a Dorchester County courtroom.

Richardson, who until recently served as pastor of a small church in Ladson, had just been served with arrest warrants charging him with two more counts of kidnapping and two more counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.

He was in court for a bond hearing, his fifth in the three weeks since his July 28 arrest.

Dale Richardson, a former minister accused of kidnapping four local women and raping three of them, is flanked by sheriff's deputies in a Dorchester County courtroom Thursday.

Richardson now stands accused of kidnapping four local women and raping three of them.

In all four cases, the victims willingly got into the suspect's vehicle. Three of the victims told police they were prostitutes. Another one said she was hitchhiking.

The charges filed by the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office on Thursday accuse Richardson of taking a woman that he picked up on Ashley Phosphate Road in North Charleston on Aug. 12, 2010 to a trailer behind Freedom Free Will Baptist Church on Lincolnville Road, and raping her there.

Until his ministerial credentials were suspended last week, Richardson was the pastor of that church.

He also was accused of taking a woman that he had picked up on Jan. 5, 2010, near Rivers and Remount roads in North Charleston to a dirt road off Mallard Road in Summerville and raping her at gunpoint. According to the incident report, the victim was forced to put a condom on her assailant before he raped her.

Mallard Road is not too far from Richardson's address on Myrtle Way, which is in the Brookwood subdivision off Butternut Road.

Saying that Richardson posed a danger to society, Dorchester County Magistrate Arthur Bryngelson denied bond on the new charges. Richardson was returned to Charleston County jail, where he is being held on more than $1 million bail for the charges filed by North Charleston police.

Last Wednesday, Dorchester County deputies charged Richardson with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of kidnapping in connection with a July 27 case in which another woman was picked up in North Charleston, taken to the trailer behind the church and raped.

North Charleston police have charged Richardson with two counts of kidnapping and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

Summerville police have charged him with assault, kidnapping, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, all in connection with a June 21 incident in which a woman said she had willingly climbed into a white pickup truck on Ashley Phosphate Road and was driven to the Lakes of Summerville, then onto a dirt road, where her abductor pulled out a handgun.

The woman told police she started crying and begging him not to kill her and she put her head between her legs. After a few minutes, the man told her to get out of the truck, the report said. There was no sexual assault in this case. Bond was denied on the charges filed by Summerville police.

Information about Richardson is going to be sent to authorities in Richland County and in Jacksonville, Fla., to see if they have any cases that fit the pattern, detectives said Thursday.

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I hope I don't sound crass but if these gals are prostitutes, I would think they would not be raped..unless he refused to pay them. Is he married, kids????

Wrap, not crass, but I think when he brought out the gun and bound her hands, it became about something other than sex. Rape isn't about sex and I would guess even a prostitute could tell the difference.

About your other comment...I suppose the "free will" baptist do not refer to God in all matters, maybe a Fallwell interpretation of the book. ???

April 25, 2013

Dale Richardson, the former pastor and accused serial rapist, could be going home soon.

Richardson, 48, has been behind bars for nearly two years awaiting trial, but a judge’s ruling will give Richardson the chance to wait for his day in court outside the jail walls.

On Wednesday, Circuit Judge Eugene Griffith Jr. set bail at $250,000 for Richardson, who’s charged with kidnapping four local women and raping three of them.

Despite the bail setting, one of Richardson’s attorneys with the Savage Law Firm, Scott Bischoff, doesn’t believe he’ll make bail right away. He must pay 10 percent of the bail amount in order for release.

“$25,000 is an awful lot of money to try and gather, so it will probably take some time,” Bischoff said. “I don’t expect him to be released any time soon.”

In August 2011, a judge had denied bail on Richardson’s charges in Dorchester County, but last month his attorneys filed a request to the court to reconsider that decision. During a hearing last month, a group of people showed up to support Richardson. His attorneys argued that denying bail was excessive because Richardson had no prior criminal record and his entire family lives in Summerville.

One of the three women Richardson is accused of raping in 2010 was in the courtroom in opposition to any bail that could lead to his release, according to 1st Circuit Assistant Solicitor Don Sorenson.

Prosecutors argued he would be a danger to the community. After mulling it over for a little more than a month, Griffith issued his decision on Wednesday. In addition to setting bail, Griffith ordered certain conditions for Richardson to follow, if he’s released.

Richardson must appear for all court dates, he’s required to be on GPS monitoring, he must live in his Summerville home where his wife resides. He will be on house arrest with the following exceptions: medical reasons, visiting attorney, visiting church or work. He must also must follow a strict sunset-to-sunrise curfew. Richardson is also restricted from having any contact with the alleged victims.

“I think it probably had something to do with the community support and the lack of prior record. There’s someone who’s going to be watching him 24 hours, seven days a week,” Bischoff said. “The community can be protected, and with lack of prior record, I think it was a fair thing for the judge to do.”

Richardson previously served as head pastor of Freedom Free Will Baptist Church in Lincolnville. Richardson is accused of taking a woman in North Charleston to a trailer behind Freedom Free Will Baptist Church on Lincolnville Road and raping her on Aug. 12, 2010, according to investigators.

Richardson also is accused of raping a woman at gunpoint on Jan. 5, 2010, and another woman on July 27, 2010, according to investigators. Authorities also accuse Richardson of abducting a woman on June 21, 2010, but letting her go without any sexual assault.

A trial date has not been set. On Monday afternoon, Richardson still remained in jail at the Dorchester County Detention Center.

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His bond should have been a lot higher than $25,000!!!