advertisement

Woodstock man charged with child rape, assault from 1990s, early 2000s

A 53-year-old Woodstock man, who was sentenced to probation on a reduced charged after a sex abuse arrest in 2000, is now charged with sexually assaulting and abusing "numerous" juveniles in the 1990s and early 2000s, according to police and court records.

Richard F. Wachter, of the 300 block of Raffel Road, is held on $1 million bail after his arrest on 11 felony charges Friday.

He was sentenced to probation in 2001 after pleading guilty to reduced charges after his March 2000 arrest on felony abuse charges, court records show.

Woodstock police said in a media release Monday they began to investigate sexual abuse and assault allegations against Wachter on Jan. 1, 2018. The state statue was changed last year to eliminate statutes of limitations on all criminal sexual assault and abuse crimes against children.

Woodstock Police Chief John Lieb declined to comment on the number of victims or how Wachter knew them.

According to McHenry County court records, Wachter faces charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault of a child under 13 from Feb 1, 2001, two charges from Feb 10, 2001, and one from March 1, 1997.

Each of those four charges carries a six- to 30-year prison term and lifetime registration as a sex offender. Wachter also could face consecutive prison sentences on those four charges for a range of 24 to 120 years behind bars.

Wachter is charged with two counts of criminal sexual assault of a victim 13 to 17 on Nov. 1, 1991, records show. Wachter also is charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child under 13 on: Feb. 1, 1991; May 1, 1996; June 1, 1996; and Jan. 1, 2000. The last charge is aggravated criminal sexual abuse from Feb. 10, 1996, records show.

Wachter was arrested in March 2000 on two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child under 13, two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child 13 to 16 and three counts of misdemeanor battery, records show. He was accused of the crimes between Jan. 8, 2000, through March 8, 2000.

Wachter pleaded guilty in August 2001 to reduced charges of misdemeanor battery and was sentenced to two years of probation. The three battery charges were dismissed and he did not have to register as a sex offender.

Wachter must post $100,000 to be released from the McHenry County jail while the charges are pending. He is due in court Thursday.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.