On Thursday March 27th, 2014 a 20-year-old female reported she had been molested over a period of four years by a family acquaintance while the man lived in San Tan Valley.
The victim was interviewed regarding the case and alleged she had been repeatedly abused between the ages of 15 to 19 -years-old by a family acquaintance. The suspect was identified as Richard Summers (age 43 of Cottonwood). Summers was alleged to have molested and sexually assaulted the victim numerous times during the 4 year period. The victim reported the abuse would occur almost on a weekly basis. The victim said she was finally able to confront Richard over text messaging, about the sexual abuse. After doing so, she confided in a relative about the abuse. The relative confirmed she also had similar incidents with Richard where she felt he was attempting to abuse her.
This case was presented to the Pinal County Grand Jury. On July 9th, 2014 a Grand Jury Warrant was issued for Summers’ arrest, charging him with one count of Luring a Minor for Sexual Exploitation, two counts of Sexual Abuse, and nine counts of Sexual Conduct with a Minor.
On Monday, July 14th, 2014 PCSO Sex Crimes Detective’s arrested Summers at his place of employment in the city of Sedona. Summers denied the allegations and said he thought the victim and her mother had concocted the allegations against him. Summers was booked into the Yavapai County Jail pending extradition to Pinal County.
On Thursday, July 17th, 2014 Summers was extradited and booked into the Pinal County Jail.
Sheriff Paul Babeu stated, “Victims of sex crimes often don’t come forward out of shame, fear and because they don’t feel anybody would believe them. This victim found the strength and courage to come forward and report the years of sexual abuse she had to endure as a teenager. Thanks to her strength and courage, Richard Summers is behind bars where he belongs. The sooner victims report crimes, the quicker we can do our job and put the suspects behind bars.”