Crim City: Historical rape charges involving five Sydney women dropped
A tow truck driver accused of sexually assaulting 12 Sydney women in northwest Sydney from 1989 to 2013 has had almost half of his charges dropped.
NSW
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EXCLUSIVE: Police have had the unpleasant task of breaking the news to five Sydney women that charges against a man they believe sexually assaulted them and seven other woman have been dropped.
When police arrested tow truck driver Gregory John Richardson last year as part of their investigation into the cold case rapes of 12 women dating back 30 years in northwest Sydney it was front page news.
Richardson, 52, was accused of attacking females aged 14 to 40 in the Ryde, Epping and Hornsby areas from 1989 to 2013.
Cops never like to drop charges, especially when it involves sexual assault claims, but in July this year they quietly did that on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Due to ongoing court proceedings neither the police or DPP will go into details about the decision but The Daily Telegraph has been told that while the charges have been withdrawn they are still being investigated.
They have assured the women involved that their cases are still active while police attempt to gather further evidence.
“The man is still to face 22 charges — including seven counts of sexual intercourse without consent, two counts of aggravated sexual assault, three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and forcible abduction of a woman with intent to carnally know,” a police spokesman said on Thursday.
Legal sources said it is not unusual in cases involving a large number of charges for some of them to be dropped in order to allow prosecutors to concentrate on the stronger cases.
“It still doesn't lessen the impact for those women who thought they would have their day in court or their matter tested,” victims advocate Howard Brown said.
“They will feel let down by the legal system.”
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Detectives from the NSW Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad formed cold case Strike Force Petit to reinvestigate the historic attacks in the northwest Sydney, where police believed there was a pattern.
“The Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad has consulted with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and a decision was made to withdraw 20 charges against a 52-year-old man at Burwood Local Court on Wednesday, 3 July, 2019,” the police spokesman said on Thursday.
“These matters are subject to further police investigation.”
After Richardson’s arrest police searched two properties at Epping where he lived and another at Berrilee where they seized a number of items including handcuffs.
“The investigation included a review of all the material including location, descriptions provided by the victims and some limited forensic examination,” the spokesman said.
“Shortly after the arrest, all the victims were contacted and told of the arrest with mixed emotions.
“Some were very relieved, some were grateful of the progress and sadly some were very emotional with the arrest reminding them the event that took place.”