By Kelly Young
kyoung@jacksonvilleprogress.com
The Jacksonville Police Department arrested a local man Tuesday who confessed to sexually assaulting a child under the age of 14 last weekend.
Richard Glenn Dishman, 50, has been charged with one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Due to what authorities are calling “aggravating” conditions, Dishman faces a minimum of 25 years in prison for the crime.
Detective Travis Cearley said the crime occurred on the morning of Saturday, March 14, and was reported the following day to Trinity Mother Frances-Jacksonville.
“The child was being supervised by her adult brother, and they went together to the house of one of the brother’s friends for the weekend. That friend lives with his uncle, Richard Dishman,” Cearley said. “On Saturday morning, the little girl left the house and entered a detached garage to get some ice cream for herself and her older brother. Mr. Dishman followed her into the garage and sexually assaulted her there.”
According to the victim, during the commission of the crime, Dishman threatened that he would kill her if she told anyone about what happened.
After leaving Dishman’s home, the victim notified a family member of the attack and was taken to the hospital for medical treatment. A forensic medical examination was conducted at the hospital.
“The child was able to provide good details about the scene of the crime and the events that took place. During an interview with the suspect, he not only corroborated the details of the offense, but he also confessed to the crime. He has since been arrested and charged,” Cearley said. “Aggravated sexual assault of a child is a first-degree felony. Due to the fact that she was placed in fear of serious bodily injury or death during the commission of the crime, that aggravates the offense even further so that it carries a term of between 25 and 99 years or life in prison.”
Dishman confessed to the crime on Tuesday, and that evening he was transported to the hospital where a DNA search warrant was executed and his DNA was collected. That sample will be compared to biological evidence recovered by JPD during the investigation.
According to Cearley, Dishman has an “extensive” criminal history with the department — dating back 20 years or more — mostly for property crimes and narcotics charges. This is the first time Dishman has been charged for a crime with a sexual component.
“I’m glad to have this case resolved quickly and to have him where he belongs. As long as he is in jail, he doesn’t have the opportunity to victimize this child again or any other children; just the fact that he is in custody makes me happy,” he said.
Bond for Dishman’s release was set at $750,000.
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