Print  email 

Lacey rape suspect sentenced

Nevada Court: Man gets life in prison for sexually assaulting developmentally disabled girl

Olympian staff, news services | • Published November 05, 2009

• Comments (0)

RENO, Nev. - A trucker who allegedly raped and robbed a college student at Saint Martin's University was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for luring and sexually assaulting a developmentally disabled girl in Nevada.

Richard Bunch, 51, was given a life sentence by Washoe District Judge Patrick Flanagan on his conviction of lewdness with a minor, as well as up to 15 years for luring a child. Bunch pleaded guilty, and the judge denied his later attempts to withdraw his pleas, court records show.

In Washington, Bunch is suspected in a daytime rape that occurred as the then-20-year-old victim was walking on trails near the Saint Martin’s campus, prompting school officials to issue a nationwide bulletin in search of clues.

Publicity from the Nevada case that reached Washington prompted authorities to obtain a DNA sample that linked Bunch to two rapes in this state. Bunch also possessed evidence from the cases, including stolen property and a stun gun thought to have been used in the Lacey attack.

Bunch is expected to be extradited to Washington to face rape and robbery charges. Authorities said he was a truck driver in Reno the past two years and traveled through 19 states.

During his sentencing Wednesday, Bunch told the judge the girl lied about the assault and he faulted police for “buying her story,” the Reno Gazette-Journal reported.

Flanagan ordered the prison terms to run consecutively, saying the crimes should “send shivers down the spine of any human being.”

The victim told Flanagan she was grateful that Bunch “didn’t kidnap, hurt or kill me.”

“I know it could have been so much worse. I have learned not to trust anyone,” she said, adding, “I feel better knowing he won’t do this again to anyone else.”

Bunch approached the 13-year-old girl at the Sparks Marina, near Reno, in July 2008, two months after the rape in Lacey occurred, investigators say.

They swam briefly before he lured her into his truck by asking if she wanted to watch a movie.

Police said Bunch got the girl’s cell phone number and called her the next day.

That helped investigators track him to Washington.

Authorities say Bunch also is a suspect in the July 2008 rape of a 9-year-old girl at Central Washington University.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.