For the second time this summer, women in Greater Wilmington can breathe a collective sigh of relief after three local police departments worked together to arrest the man who recently raped three females.
Wilmington police arrested Richard C. Hunt at 8:45 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 8 after a high-speed chase Sunday evening that ended in an accident in the 600 block of N. Madison Street. Hunt, 31, of Wilmington, stands accused raping an 8-year-old Wilmington girl, a woman on Peachtree Road in Claymont and a woman at the Boys & Girls Club in Claymont.
The rape of the girl occurred in the City of Wilmington and the others in unincorporated Claymont, spanning the jurisdiction of three police departments, Wilmington police Master Sgt. Steven H. Barnes said.
Hunt is being held at Howard Young Prison in lieu of $600,000 cash secured bail and $510,000 secured bail, Barnes said.
Wilmington police caught a break in the case when a witness, who knew Hunt was wanted, called to say he was sitting in a stolen 2003 Nissan Altima at the intersection of Read and Jackson streets, Wilmington Police Chief Michael J. Szczerba said Monday, Aug. 9. The caller described the man as Hunt, whom police had said was wanted for the rape of an 8-year-old girl.
As police approached Hunt sped away in the Altima, reported stolen in a burglary Aug. 4, Szczerba said at a joint press conference held with county and state police at Wilmington Police Department headquarters. Police pursued Hunt into West Center City, where he crashed his car into another vehicle, then a building. Again, he tried to flee, but police arrested him in the backyard of one of the homes along North Madison Street.
Wilmington police charged him with three counts of rape in the first degree based on a report filed with police on July 23, Szczerba said. Police obtained warrants July 30 to search Hunt’s home, then announced Hunt was wanted.
On July 30, police notified the public that Hall was wanted for rape, Szczerba aid.
“When we signed the warrant on July 30, he was out on bail, $6,000 unsecured bail, for a burglary which occurred in Wilmington earlier to that date,” he said. “He is a registered sex offender. He has an extensive – let me repeat – an extensive arrest history with the Wilmington Department of Police and other agencies.”
Szczerba declined to go into further detail about Hunt’s criminal history.
Wilmington police contacted New Castle County and Delaware State Police on Sunday night with regard to Hunt being a possible suspect for their investigations, Szczerba said.
New Castle County Police Chief Col. Michael McGowan said Hunt’s arrest was a prime example of police agencies and the public working together to set the stage for a successful investigation.
County detectives’ interview with Hunt turned out to be a critical piece of the investigation, McGowan said.
At 8:45 p.m. Aug. 3, county police responded to a home on the 800 block of Peachtree Road in the Woodstream Apartments for a reported sexual assault with a weapon, McGowan said. There, a 35-year-old woman said a male suspect armed with a knife startled her in her bedroom. The suspect threw her to the floor, bound her and raped her, McGowan said. The suspect then removed some property and fled the residence. The victim eventually freed herself and sought help from neighbors.
New Castle County Police charged Hunt with two counts of rape in the first degree, one count of robbery in the first degree, one count of burglary in the first degree, one count of kidnapping in the first degree, one county of strangulation in the first degree, one count of wearing a disguise during the commission of a felony, one count of tampering with evidence and eight counts of possession with a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, McGowan said.
Delaware State Police investigated the rape that took place at 11 a.m. July 29 at the Boys & Girls Club at 500 Darley Road, state police Capt. John Evans said. As a result of this investigation, state police charged Hunt with one count each of rape in the first degree, robbery in the first degree, kidnapping in the second degree, assault in the second degree, terroristic threatening and three counts of possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony.
“Keeping in mind that is an active and ongoing investigation, and so as not to compromise future proceedings, my comments with respect to the actual investigation will be very brief,” Evans said. “The system worked as it was designed and the arrest in these cases came as the result of cooperative effort between the Delaware State Police, New Castle County Police, Wilmington police and the public’s help.”
Szczerba reiterated the importance of the public’s help in this investigation, saying the no-snitch mentality within the city was not in play for this case.
As for the 8-year-old victim, a key part of this case, there were three incidents that spanned the months of June and July, Szczerba said. These were brought to the attention of the girl’s relatives, he said.
“I cannot get into anything beyond that because this is pending a court deposition.”
Earlier this summer, Delaware State Police arrested Bear resident 40-year-old Alfred Hubbard June 24 after investigators identified him through a DNA match as the suspect in two Stanton area abductions and rapes.
