Kansas man threatens Pike County child through social media, charged with child porn, indecent solicitation of child

PITTSFIELD, Ill. — A Kansas man has been charged with child pornography and indecent solicitation of a child in Pike County.

The Pike County Sheriff’s Department received on Feb. 29 a complaint of indecent solicitation of a child, sexual exploitation of a child, grooming and child pornography. A couple discovered their child under the age of 13 had been communicating with an adult male for several months through various social media websites.  

The case was assigned to Chief Deputy Zack Orr, a member of the Illinois Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. Orr took over the messaging between the victim and the suspect. He elicited identifying information from the suspect, who still believed he was messaging the victim. 

Multiple search warrants were obtained and executed to identify the suspect. Upon receiving information obtained from the search warrants, Orr deconflicted the information through the ICAC database and observed numerous open cases involving the suspect for possession and dissemination of child pornography in Kansas. 

Orr identified the suspect and obtained an arrest warrant for him in Pike County. The investigation led Orr and Deputy Zach Hardin to Wellington, Kan.

Orr met with members of the Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Wellington Police Department, where law enforcement officials tracked the suspect to an apartment in the 800 block of Woodlawn in Wellington.  

On March 13^th, 2024, at 9:15 A.M., law enforcement officials took Justin Lee Howard Richards-Olby, 22, of Wellington into custody without incident at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, March 13. Richards-Olby was transported to the Sumner County Jail.  

Orr continued the investigation and executed a search warrant at the apartment, where additional electronic devices were located and seized.  

Upon waiving extradition, Richards-Olby was transported to the Pike County Jail, where he remains lodged. 

Richards Olby is charged with five counts of indecent solicitation of a child, a Class 1 felony, and two counts of child pornography, a class X felony. Based on a forensic examination of electronic devices, additional charges are pending.

“As a parent, it is very easy to become complacent with your child and their use of social media,” Orr said in a press release. “Parents must check their children’s cellular phones and electronics to see what they are doing. 

“This case was difficult to work on based on what the suspect said he was going to do to the victim. The suspect, on more than one occasion, told the victim he was going to ‘kidnap’ her and ‘force impregnation.’ The messages sent from the suspect to the victim were some of the most disturbing, horrific and vile messages I have seen in my 25 years of law enforcement.”  

Assisting with the investigation were:

• Children’s Advocacy Center, Pittsfield.
• Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department.
• Sumner County (Kan.) Sheriff’s Department.
• Wichita (Kan.) Police Department.