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Md. man charged with targeting male victims he met on Tinder

Rodney J. Richardson charged with rape, kidnapping, robbery and other offenses

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Rodney J. Richardson (Photo courtesy of Prince George's County Police Department)

Prince Georgeā€™s County, Md., police announced on Thursday they have charged a 26-year-old man with multiple criminal offenses, including raping one male victim, and carjacking another male victim after meeting the two men on a dating app and luring them to locations where he attacked and robbed them.

A statement released by police says the suspect, Rodney J. Richardson of Brandywine, Md., has been charged with rape, kidnapping, handgun offenses, armed robbery and multiple additional charges in connection with his encounter with two adult males he met on the dating app that NBC Washington identified as Tinder.

The TV station said it obtained charging documents filed in the Maryland District Court for Prince Georgeā€™s County in Upper Marlboro.

ā€œOn February 12, 2023, detectives were notified of a sexual assault that occurred on February 10, 2023, in Brandywine,ā€ the police statement says. ā€œThe preliminary investigation revealed Richardson met the victim, an adult male, on a popular dating app. The two agreed to meet in Brandywine,ā€ the statement continues.

ā€œDuring that encounter, Richardson raped the victim at gunpoint,ā€ it says. ā€œIn addition, he drove the victim to the victimā€™s bank and forced him to take out money.ā€ 

In the second case, the police statement says Richardson met the victim on the dating app and arranged for the two to meet in person, after which he carjacked the victim at gunpoint. The statement says the Prince George’s County Police Department’s Carjacking Interdiction Unit identified and charged Richardson with armed carjacking after conducting a ā€œthorough investigation.ā€ 

The statement doesnā€™t say how police ultimately identified and located Richardson, but it calls on anyone who has information about Richardson to call the departmentā€™s Sexual Assault Unit detectives at 301-772-4908.Ā 

In obtaining court documents for the case, NBC Washington reporter Aimee Cho provided details in her broadcast report on Thursday that police did not include in their statement. She reported that police said Richardson invited one of the two victims to his own house on a date, where he raped him at gunpoint and demanded his phone, ID and Social Security number.

Choā€™s news report says Richardson forced the victim to stay in a car trunk all night, threatened to kill him and his family, and drove him the next morning to the victimā€™s bank and made him withdraw $4,500 before eventually letting him go.

Concerning the carjacking incident with the second victim, which police say occurred on Feb. 2, NBC Washington reports that Richardson, after meeting the victim on the Tinder app, arranged for the two to drive to a dirt road, where he robbed him at gunpoint of his phone, wallet and car. Cho reported that Richardson also took the victimā€™s crutches, which he needed to walk, ā€œleaving him stranded in the freezing cold.ā€

An off-duty police officer driving by saw the victim crawling on his hands and knees, NBC Washington reports, and immediately called for help.

Online court records show that police and prosecutors have charged Richardson with a total of 15 criminal offenses. He is being held without bond and is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on March 15.

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Maryland

What Anne Arundel County school board candidates think about book bans

State lawmakers passed Freedom to Read Act in April

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Parents in some Maryland school districts have organized campaigns to restrict the kinds of books allowed in school libraries. (Photo by Kylie Cooper/Baltimore Banner)

BY ROYALE BONDS | Parentsā€™ efforts to restrict content available to students in school libraries has become a contentious issue in Maryland. Conservative parent groups, such as Moms for Liberty, have been working to get books they believe are inappropriate removed from libraries in Carroll and Howard counties, sparkingĀ protests, new policies, and even aĀ state law.

The Freedom to Read Act, passed in April, sets standards that books cannot be removed from public and school libraries due to an authorā€™s background. Library staff that uphold the standard are protected under this act. The law, however, does not prohibit removing books deemed ā€œsexually explicit,ā€ the stated reason local Moms for Liberty chapters challenged school library books.

The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner website.

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Maryland

Christian Siriano to serve as grand marshal of Annapolis Pride Parade

Fashion designer is an Annapolis native

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Christian Siriano, an Annapolis native, won the fourth season of ā€œProject Runway,ā€ and has become one of the reality showā€™s most successful and visible stars. (Ā© Leandro Justen/Leandro Justen)

BY JOHN-JOHN WILLIAMS IV | Heā€™s conquered fashion week. His designs have slayed the red carpet during award season. And now Christian Siriano is coming home.

The Annapolis native will serve as grand marshal and keynote speaker June 1 for the annual Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival,Ā which is a major coup as the event enters its fourth year.

The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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Maryland

Md. governor signs Freedom to Read Act

Law seeks to combat book bans

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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (Public domain photo/Twitter)

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Thursday signed a bill that seeks to combat efforts to ban books from state libraries.

House Bill 785, also known as the Freedom to Read Act, would establish a state policy ā€œthat local school systems operate their school library media programs consistent with certain standards; requiring each local school system to develop a policy and procedures to review objections to materials in a school library media program; prohibiting a county board of education from dismissing, demoting, suspending, disciplining, reassigning, transferring, or otherwise retaliating against certain school library media program personnel for performing their job duties consistent with certain standards.ā€

Moore on Thursday also signed House Bill 1386, which GLSEN notes will ā€œdevelop guidelines for an anti-bias training program for school employees.ā€

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