Convicted child molester arrested, charged in Gurnee Mills abduction
A paroled child molester accused in last month's abduction, robbery and sexual attack of a woman at Gurnee Mills has been captured and charged, police said Thursday.
An anonymous tip led police to Richard R. Gallatin, 37, who was arrested about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday while he was camping in the Chain 'O Lakes State Park in Spring Grove, officials said.
Lake County sheriff's police deputies found Gallatin at the park and took him into custody without incident, officials said.
Gallatin, whose last known address is in the 5400 block of 75th Street in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., was charged with four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, one count of aggravated kidnapping and one count of armed robbery, all class X felonies.
He faces 6 to 30 years in prison in connection with the June 5 attack. His bond was set at $1 million Thursday afternoon.
Wisconsin Department of Corrections records show Gallatin is a convicted child sex offender. He was convicted of first-degree sexual assault of a child in Kenosha County in July 2003.
Gurnee police Cmdr. Jay Patrick said Gallatin was on parole when he attacked the woman outside Gurnee Mills. Gallatin was listed Tuesday as not complying with the lifetime requirement to provide information for Wisconsin's sex offender registry.
"He was like a predator. We wanted to get him off the streets before he victimized anyone else," Patrick said.
Police credit the news media for assistance in making the tipster aware of the search for Gallatin.
A Daily Herald story announcing the manhunt was posted on Icarry.org, a resource that promotes the right to carry handguns. Shaun Kranish, executive director of Icarry.org, said shortly after the story was posted, a Lake County member of the group realized he knew the offender.
The Icarry.org member provided information to police that led to the arrest, Kranish said.
Before the tip, police detectives and the U.S. Marshals Service were hunting for Gallatin, who is known to frequent the Kenosha area.
Authorities said the Gurnee Mills attack began when the victim was walking to her car in Lot F about 9:20 p.m. Police accuse Gallatin of implying he had a gun when he forced the woman into her vehicle.
She was instructed to drive Gallatin to an automated teller machine in Grayslake, where he forced her to withdraw $40 from her bank account. Police said he ordered the woman to drive west on Route 120 to Route 47, then south toward Campton Hills in Kane County.
Once near Campton Hills, police said, the victim was told to drive to a church parking lot where Gallatin sexually assaulted her.
Gallatin forced the woman to drive to a convenience store in Forest Park after the sexual assault, according to police. He fled the vehicle about 1:20 a.m. June 6, and the woman drove back to Lake County to report the attack.
Daily Herald staff writers Bob Susnjara and Tony Gordon contributed to this report.