August 24, 2025 • 43 mins
In 2011, a young lady made a shocking report to N. Charleston Police detailing how she had been kidnapped and attacked. As shocked as they were, the real surprise came when they realized who the suspect was. Charges ramped up when more women showed the courage to come forward to create a picture of a serial offender.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
For over three hundred and fifty years, the state of
South Carolina has been the setting for some of the
most horrendous crimes ever committed. Some have gained global notoriety,
some have been forgotten, and others have been swept under
the rug completely. Now, two South Carolina natives and true
(00:25):
crime enthusiasts have teamed up to examine these heinous acts
in detail, giving their perspective of the evil that has
resided in the Palmetto State. You're listening to Carolina Crimes.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
And welcome back to Carolina Crimes, episode two thirty six.
I'm one of your hosts, Matt Hyres, along.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
With Danielle Myers, and.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
We're over the moon thrilled that you joined us here
this week, especially after all those shenanigans last week. We're
talking about Boga von Antel and Tiger King, and I
think he caught a lot of heat online. I did
a lot of feedback. You've never watched it, I know,
and I've got to.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
I did look it up, and you can watch it
on Netflix, which I don't have, so I'll probably get
more flat from that, but I don't.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
I guess I'm living in the eighteen hundreds. In my house.
I don't. I don't know, but.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
Wow, I'm I'm working on it to try. I do
want to watch it so that I can actually have
a conversation. But one thing that I have not done
that I can say.
Speaker 5 (01:32):
That I have officially done as of a couple of
days ago.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Yeah, you scared me. You said you got an announcement
to make to everybody.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
And Megan, is you gonna share?
Speaker 4 (01:40):
Or I went to South of the Border all right,
first time, and I didn't just drive by.
Speaker 5 (01:46):
We stopped and was an experience.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
It was very deserted.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
And and I felt like I was on the set
of a horror movie. Something's gonna happen, don't you dare
Something's gonna happen.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Come on to this podcast and disparage the good name
South of the Border.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
I'm not.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
But I passed these hotels and you can see the
pool out and it's just like chairs everywhere, a couple
pools and not a soul in sight.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
But I did.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
I did look it up, and apparently a few years
ago they put about thirty acres for sale, and that
includes the amusement park. I think some of the hotels
and the mini golf area.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
So I think that.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
I don't know what's going on with that, but apparently
I don't think it's functional.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Is it still for sale?
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Why are you asking?
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Hear me out? I got an idea, of course you do, dude.
If we own part of South of the Border.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
I mean, you wouldn't have to do anything. It's already.
I mean literally everything's there.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
Is just no people, and it's just the weirdest thing
because I'm like, they're so many attractions.
Speaker 5 (03:01):
And it's so much to do, and it's unique.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
Not very many cars and not many people. We did
stop at a store and get a couple of things, but.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
I'll give you some shark teeth necklaces.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
I did not.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I did stropham cowboy hats.
Speaker 5 (03:14):
No, I did see a lot of sombreros.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
So I got to read up on the history of
it a little bit because I did research it, and
I think the part being up for sale maybe I
don't know if it's been purchased, but it's I don't
think it's in use, which would explain a lot of
the things not having any people.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
If you're a realtor from Dylan County, reach out. We
got an idea, So no but yeah, it's a unique place, little,
a little off the wall, not gonna lie, but glad
you got the experience. Yeah, and you'd see why when
seven year old Madison when we rolled up there on
an overnight trip and I was like, wake up, Mama,
(03:51):
took a wrong turn. We're in Mexico and she freaked out.
You see why she would think I get it.
Speaker 5 (03:56):
Yeah in her See you get to see pedro, yeah,
all the sombreros.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
And I like stuff. I like roadside clitchki kinda things
like that.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
And I read that apparently people would honeymoon there.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
Oohang, and it used to be called the merriest marryingess
area because you could get married at fourteen at the
time there without your parents' consent.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Like I said, you learn a lot of stuff when
you research.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
Wow, I don't think that's the thing anymore, but yeah,
you could spend a whole trip there, stay and.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
See the reptile lagoon that was that was really cool.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
And then play some mini golf and go to the
amusement park.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Yeah that's us, that's us.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
But yeah, I got to experience it.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Running a place like that's not too far off from
what I could have been.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
I guess, well, you didn't aim high enough.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
I guess I guess not. But if you would like to, uh,
let's get into some housekeeping and maybe some folks will
feel very generous and maybe help us on our way
to owning a portion of South of the Border.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
I don't know why you're saying us.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yeah, but good business deal, make a good partnership. But
I am not interested in purchasing South of the Border.
But for those of you just joining us, if you
haven't followed us on social media, here on the podcast,
we do get serious. Sorry, we don't normally banter like
(05:31):
that at the beginning, but that was very interesting.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
I had, I had, I had to make up for
not seeing Tiger King. So I have now been checked
something else off my list.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
You've been indicated.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Thank you appreciate it just a little.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Yes. So if you're not already following us on social media,
you can go back and see pictures, put some faces
with some names of everybody from this case and all
of our previous cases. On Facebook, we're at Carolina Crimes Podcast.
Also over on Twitter where we're at sc Crimes pod.
If you'd like to support the show for free, If
(06:05):
you're listening on Spotify, Apple iTunes, Apple Podcasts, please throw
us a five star review and match that purple subscribe button.
Let us know a little something that you like about
the show. After the show today, we'll have a lot
of thank you for folks that did do that. Also,
if you'd like to support the show monetarily and contribute
to our potential purchase of South of the Border, please
(06:29):
go to Carolina crimesstore dot com. Look at your sweet
swag and I've had some I've had tons of requests
to update that stuff and I've just folks. I apologize.
It's a busy time of year. We've had football season
going on. It just started this past Friday on the
air with that doing research for that, had to put
(06:51):
on a golf tournament this week for Old Dorothy Day
Soup Kitchen. I appreciate everybody that helped us with that.
It's Carolina Crimes Podcast was one of the spot whole
sponsors there and we raised a lot of money for
those in need. And like I said on our Facebook post,
please if you're I know everybody out there has a
good heart, and I mean find those in need, find
(07:14):
those organizations in your community and please give back, but
head on over to Carolina crimestore dot com. Get you
some sweet sweet Carolina crimes paraphernalia and make this dream
of South of the Border country only kidding you. Get
you some good shirts.
Speaker 5 (07:33):
Okay, I think we're gonna have a long way to go,
but so enough.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Of this BS Today, Episode two thirty six. The real
reason you're here, This is one I'm gonna go ahead
and give a disclaimer. It does deal with sexual assault,
sexual abuse, sexual themes. So if you've got some young years,
(07:57):
maybe listening you discretion as you see fit. But this
one's going to come to us out of Ladson, South Carolina.
Now Ladson, it's considered a suburban community. It's still unincorporated
in the Charleston metroplex, and the boundaries of the town
actually overlay the corner of three counties, Charleston, Berkeley, and
(08:21):
Dorchester counties, so it's right there. Basically, if you're living
like a two person household, one person's got a job
in Somerville, one in Charleston. This is kind of a
boy the perfect place.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Yeah, a good little in between.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Yes it is now. The Ladson area was just a
small rural area southeast of Somerville until the construction of
I twenty six in the nineteen sixties. The community itself
was named for John Ladson, one of South Carolina's first
settlers who arrived in sixteen seventy nine. Now, the Ladson
(08:59):
family that became wealthy through rice in Indigo that they
grew on their plantations, and the family was not only
wealthy but very politically influential in holding several offices in
South Carolina. And I think the top office some of
the descendants of John Ladson attained was James Ladson, who
(09:21):
was Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina in the seventeen nineties.
Now Ladson's there were French Huguenots, and they built a
chapel there, the Blue House Tavern, which I think was
kind of a boarding place to a lot like we
mentioned in the Lavinia Fisher episode six Mile House something
like that, but just a different direction than her House
(09:44):
of Horrors.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
In nineteen oh five, the Southern Railway Depot was built
in Ladson, and today's population is thirteen thousand, eight hundred people.
Big shout out. Ladson Elementary was constructed in nineteen seventy five.
I had an internship back there in college, really in
my senior year with the Faith Todds. She was Faith
(10:07):
Ellis back then her kindergarten class. Ladson's also right there
on the cusp. I don't know if it's considered North Charleston.
Some say Ladson, some say North Charleston. But Charleston Southern
University used to be the Baptist College and also Trident Hospital,
which is right across the street. Some of the more
famous folks to have hailed from or lived in Ladson
(10:30):
Harold Green from Stratford High School. He was a one
time NFL Pro Bowl running back with the Cincinnati Bengals,
Saint Louis ran Rams, and Atlanta Falcons. Also a usc
Gangcock and Tony Ellen. He was a top ranked American
pool player whose life was cut short in an auto
(10:51):
accident at the age of thirty four. So then this
was early two thousands, so definitely a tragedy there. Okay,
So we handed out one disclaimer. We're gonna hand out
another one here before we get started. For this case
to be so recent, this was one of the hardest
(11:13):
ones I ever had to research because going through the
Associated Press, local news posts, online newspapers, Fox News, they
all had articles about this crime, but their timelines were
(11:34):
all over the place. So what I did was try
to piece this thing together. I mean, the events are
what happened, but the timelines, you know, one would put
one event before the other, and it was it was
very confusing. Finally I got a Live five News article.
They had a timeline, and that's that's kind of what
(11:55):
I'm gonna go off of. But okay, I mean, we'll
put the sources in there and you see for yourself
in the show notes, it was wild.
Speaker 4 (12:04):
I've had that happen before. I have to piece meal
because the ages are different, the dates.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
And I'm like, hold on. So that's where the research
comes from.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Yes, And also, religion is gonna come into play in
this episode, and I want to make it very clear
that we are not condemning any religion. We're not condemning
any sect of faith or denomination or what people believe.
(12:34):
This is about an individual. This is not about a religion.
It just so happens he was involved in that community.
So let's keep that in mind and we go forward.
So we're going to go to July of twenty eleven
and on Carolina Commerce Parkway near Ladson it's a roads
(12:58):
close to eye, twenty six Rivers Avenue, all of that
around there. A young woman emerged from a wooded area
in obvious distress. She was a bit disoriented and she
was asking for help, trying to get people to listen
to her, saying, Hey, I need to talk to someone.
(13:21):
I needed you to call the police. The young lady
was twenty years old, and she asked Good Samaritans to
phone the police that she needed help. When the North
Charleston police arrived, she unloaded an absolutely shocking story. She
said that earlier that morning, around noon, she was forced
(13:47):
into a vehicle by a stocky white man came up
behind her, put her in a car, and when she
tried to get out of the white pickup truck, the
older man pulled a gun on her and bound her hands.
She then said that the man covered her head with
(14:09):
a pillow case and started driving for about twenty to
thirty minutes. When he stopped the truck. He took the
terrified twenty year old into an uninhabited building where he
raped her at gunpoint. After the assault, he dropped her
off into a wooded area, through her purse in her
(14:31):
general direction and told her not to turn around or
he'd shoot her. He told her just to walk and
to keep walking and if she didn't, if she turned around,
she'd be dead. So she walked the straight line, got
her purse, and finally came out of the woods around
Carolina Commerce Parkway. The young lady she had a very
(14:57):
good description of her attacker and the least, we're surprised
to say the least when they started hearing about his identity,
and she had one good piece of information that could help.
She said that he had this placard hanging from his
rear view mirror had his name on it, but all
she could make out was that his last name started
(15:19):
with an R. Okay, And before we get any further
into this tale, we are going to take our first
break and come right back and get into the investigation
into this crime and exactly what happened there in Ladson.
Folks will be right back after this quick word from
our sponsors. Hi friends, Matt Hire's here. One of my
(15:50):
favorite parts of bringing you Carolina Crimes each week is
spotlighting the many wonderful towns and communities within our great state.
And today I'm proud to encourage you all the time
check out one of my personal favorites. Rather on a
road trip or a weekend getaway, discover Mullins. Once a
vibrant depot town and the former tobacco capital of South Carolina,
(16:12):
Mullins is a hidden treasure in the PD region. Explore
our offerings by savoring a cup of coffee at our
delightful coffee shop, enjoying lunch at any of our charming restaurants,
visiting old brick Square, and shopping at our quaint retail stores,
which include an antique market located in a repurposed tobacco warehouse.
(16:34):
Your visit would not be complete without a stop at
the South Carolina Tobacco Museum, situated in the historic train
depot in downtown Mullens, South Carolina. Here you can explore
various exhibits such as models of tobacco plants at each
growth stage, a blacksmith shop, a log tobacco barn filled
with cure tobacco, a farmhouse kitchen showcasing vintage equipment, and
(16:57):
a photo gallery highlighting contemporary tobacco practices. The Mullins Room
honors our town's origins and its swift growth driven by
the railroad and the tobacco industry. Additionally, in late June
twenty twenty five, the Reverend Daniel Simmons Museum will open
its doors to the public. Within the Tobacco Museum, Reverend
(17:18):
Simmons was one of the victims of the Mother Emmanuel
nine tragedy, and he spent his childhood in Mullins and
worked in its tobacco warehouses. Thanks to a generous loan
from his daughter Rose, we will exhibit many of his
personal belongings, including his beloved Bible. The documentary of his life,
One Last Breath, will be continuously streamed in the museum.
(17:40):
Rather it's for a road trip or a weekend getaway,
Mullins is a perfect place to visit and a place
to call home. Visit Mullins, South Carolina, and welcome back
(18:24):
to Carolina Crimes, episode two thirty six, and this terrifying
story this young lady told North Charleston police when they
responded to the scene where she emerged out of the Woods,
Carolina Commerce Parkway and telling people that she was forcibly
kidnapped and rape. We're gonna switch gears a little bit,
(18:46):
and we're gonna talk about a man by the name
of Dale Richardson Okay Dale. He was a forty six
year old husband and father. He was a jovial man
who lived in a well kept, little yellow house in Somerville.
Dale for the most part, was very well liked and
(19:08):
he's described as kind and outgoing and would always help
those in need. Dale would cut elderly neighbors grass for them,
counsel them and give them advice because, after all, helping
others was a part of his job. You see. Dale
was the head pastor at Freedom Free Will Baptist Church
(19:32):
in Latson. Did a little digging into this because I
go to a Baptist church, remember there, but free Will
Baptists are a little different. I've had friends that are
free Will Baptists, and I'm trying to say Baptist churches.
(19:55):
I don't want to say normal or regularly, but just
Baptist churches. What they believe in is, you know, you
give your profession of faith, your baptized, submerged underwater, and
you are saved from your sins. What free will Baptists
believe is that your salvation is conditional. You can have
(20:17):
faith in God, but you can also if you stray
from that. You know your salvation is not guaranteed. It
is up to your own free will. Okay, they have
some old school practices. This is just coming from the
people that I know that are free will Baptist. Symbolism
(20:40):
of washing feet, washing each other's, no alcohol, very traditional,
rudimentary music. I mean, you're not going to see more
than likely not to see electric guitars or anything like
that or any of the yeah, anything like that at
a free will Baptist church. Well, the church building itself
(21:03):
was nothing ostentageous. It was just a simple brick sanctuary
with a painted cinder block addition on the back that
was used for Sunday school or church activities, and it
was situated actually beside a railroad track. Now on the
church's website was Dale Richardson's bio and it read that
(21:27):
he became a Christian at a tent revival in nineteen
seventy nine, the age of fourteen, that he studied at
Liberty University and began preaching in two thousand and six.
He had been the head pastor at Freedom Free Will
Baptists for a little over a year in July of
twenty eleven when this event occurred, and he actually had
(21:52):
a good following about fifty regular members attended, and Richardson
was well long by both his congregation and his neighbors,
didn't have a criminal record, and was just described as
a big, sweet guy. Yeah. This made it all the
more shocking when the sexual assault victim that emerged from
(22:15):
the Woods identified Dale Richardson as her attacker. She actually
id'd him from his photo on the church's website.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
Oh so it wasn't like a lineup, No.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Said, that is him. Well, Dorchester County deputies they aided
in the investigation, and the following day after the report
came in, warrants for kidnapping and sexual assault were issued.
Now Dale was arrested at his home without incident, and
when the news of his arrest spread, those that knew
(22:54):
him were shocked and quite frankly, they.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
Had a hard time believing understandable.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
One neighbor she actually was quoted as saying just that
she did. She didn't believe he could he was capable
of doing anything like this. His congregation rallied around him
and his family when they saw it on the local news.
And I tried to put myself in this situation, and
(23:22):
I was thinking, and me and my brother, your husband.
We've been in this situation. We were extremely close friends
with a guy growing up, played sports with him, went
to school with him, got in a lot of trouble.
In fact, he was, you know, considered a leader of
(23:46):
our class, leader of some of our teams. And when
the news broke, now it wasn't anything like this, no murder,
anything like that. But when we heard that he had
gotten in legal trouble, my first reaction was, I don't
believe it.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
You have the wrong person.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
Yeah, that's that's a misprint. Somebody got the wrong name.
No way in the world that could happen to this person,
but it did. He did, it paid his debt to society.
He's back, he's back to being the wonderful person that
(24:30):
he was and always has been. But he made a
mistake and broke the law.
Speaker 4 (24:36):
But I.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
You know, we talk about some of these cases and
a lot of times it's the family that they come
out and they're like, no, this person didn't do this,
or yeah, you know a parent, my baby wouldn't have
been able to do this. And we talk about that
a lot. But when you talk about the community, the church, congregation,
neighbors coming out and being like, no, there's you've got
the wrong dude.
Speaker 4 (25:00):
They probably I mean, you go to these sermons on Sunday,
they might have like Wednesday night church and other things.
Most of these people you obviously probably know the family
really well. They have this family community in the church.
They've probably been you know, guided by him, gone like
(25:20):
one on one, yeah, having conversations about personal things and
maybe struggling with stuff. And so you only know this
person in this one way, and you're like, every time
I've been around them, they've always been very giving, very loving, always.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
Been there for me.
Speaker 4 (25:35):
I've never once felt anything. So you kind of can't
help but be like this, this can't be it, because
you know, people will only allow you to see what
they want you to see about themselves. Sometimes not all
the time, but sometimes, and you know, when stuff like
that happens, you just kind of have to have stuff
(25:56):
come out and hopefully maybe they're wrong, yeah, or maybe
you have enough where you got to admit, yeah, this
is a person I didn't know.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Yeah, And it's hard to accept if this is someone
that you've trusted because deep down, kind of subconsciously, you're like,
I don't want to admit that I'm wrong about this person,
but sometimes you are.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
Well and it makes you also question other people in
your life. You know, there are other people that you're like,
You've never given me any red flags. I've never had
any reason to think that you could do something like this.
But if he can do it, who's to say you can't?
And it kind of breaks your trust in humanity a
little bit.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Well, the doubts that this community and his congregation had,
they soon started to diminish because when due to the
news reports coming out, more women started coming forward. They
(26:56):
had a lot to say about this matter to the police.
And we'll get into exactly what they said after this
last break, and we're going to get into the meat
of this story about how this story and Dale Richardson,
this whole situation started to unravel. Folks will be right
(27:18):
back after this quick word from our sponsors, and welcome
(27:44):
back to Carolina Crimes, Episode two thirty six, and these
serious allegations against the pastor Dale Richardson in Lads in
South Carolina, that he kidnapped and raped a twenty year
old woman in July of twenty eleven. And before the break,
(28:07):
we talked about things were gonna get a whole lot
more dark, both for the community and for Dale Richardson
when more accusers began to come forward. So after the
arrest of forty six year old Dale Richardson, other events
started to come to light, both disturbing and disgusting allegations.
(28:32):
A woman came forward and said in August of twenty
ten that Dale Richardson took her to an uninhabited mobile
home right behind Freedom Free Will Baptist and she was
raped and forced to perform oral sex on Richardson.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
At gunpoint, right behind the church.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
This is on church property. They own that mobile home.
Also in twenty ten, a woman came forward to tell
authorities that she had been kidnapped by Richardson, but not
sexually assaulted. This was in Somerville, South Carolina. In January
(29:19):
of twenty ten, a woman came forward and said during
that time period that she had been kidnapped and she
had been raped in his vehicle in Jedburgh, South Carolina,
which is right there near Lincolnville, Summerville, all around that
Latson area. So already in jail and arrested on a
(29:43):
one million dollar bond. More charges were filed against Dale Richardson,
and on August eighteenth, of twenty eleven, his bond was revoked.
The charges that he were facing were or four charges
of four counts of kidnapping, three counts of first degree
(30:06):
sexual assault, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
After this, his church they removed his name from their sign. Okay,
his preaching credentials were suspended by the South Carolina Free
(30:29):
Will Baptist State Association due to his misconduct or charges
of misconduct. And when reporters started to dig a little deeper,
they contacted Liberty University. Remember in his bio he said
he studied at Liberty University, but there were no records
of Dale Richardson ever being a student there. So I
(30:53):
don't know if he trumped up those things and lied
on his resume. I mean, this is yeah, the Internet's around.
I mean, you can't, you can't do that. So his
trial was set for November thirteenth of twenty thirteen in
the Dorchester County county seat of Saint George. Always find
(31:16):
that fascinating. Saint George is not that big a town.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
I've driven by it, Yes, drive by it on I.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
Ninety five and Dorchester. It has a lot larger towns,
mainly Somerville, but Saint George is the county seat. That's
where the circuit court is held. All the county government
is right there. Glenn Justice, he represented the solicitor's office,
(31:43):
or if you're not familiar with South Carolina Lingo, that's
the prosecutor. And the trial commenced. But on the second
day of the trial, Dale Richardson, he took a plea
deal and he pled guilty to kidney and sexual criminal
sexual conduct. When the senacing came around, part of the
(32:08):
plea deal was he was gonna admit he was guilty,
but also they would not proceed further with other charges. Okay,
When sentacing came around, there was going to be a
thirty year max for each of these each of these
crimes that he was convicted of, and he received a
(32:30):
twenty year sentence maybe because of his plea. I can't
get into why. Yeah, I don't know what was going through.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Well, a sentencing a lot is determined off of the plea.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Yes, and keep in mind he didn't have a previous
criminal record, but he was given twenty years. He had
credit for time serve. He had remained in jail with
no bond from twenty eleven to twenty thirteen, so he
got credit for those two years, which means essentially he'll
(33:04):
serve around seventeen and a half years in South Carolina
Department of Corrections where he's at now, and he's scheduled
to be released in twenty twenty eight.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
I saw that far.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
No, it's not now. Judge Mate Murphy had some choice
words for Richardson. Murphy said, you were the pastor of
a church. Rather than healing the people who needed it most,
you took advantage of them in the most horrible way.
(33:41):
Richardson at his sentencing, he apologized, He was remorseful, He
apologized to the families and to the women that he hurt.
He apologized to his own family, church family, and it
seemed like this was just a double life. This guy was. Yeah,
I don't know if he set himself up to maybe
(34:06):
it's hard to say, but I don't know if he
set himself up to be in a position of power
where he could do this to women, or if he
became a pastor with all good intentions and then he
felt the power and was tempted. And I don't even think, really,
I wouldn't even say tempted because temptation kind of goes
(34:29):
two ways. I mean, it's somebody wanting it or wanting
it to happen. But he asserted his power over these women,
and he may have thought that he was invincible and
he was going to do whatever he wanted for sexual pleasures.
Speaker 4 (34:49):
Well, and a lot of times sex crimes, people think
it's not about sex. It's about power, having that control
over people, instilling that fear. So that goes hand in
hand with his leadership role at the church. And also,
you know, maybe he got a little comfortable because he
(35:09):
had been getting away.
Speaker 2 (35:10):
With this, yeah, for about a year and a half.
Speaker 3 (35:13):
I mean, he had had multiple victims.
Speaker 4 (35:15):
Nobody had said anything, and sometimes people get a little
comfortable thinking, getting a little cocky, thinking, well, the police
haven't found me yet, so obviously I'm you know, not
making mistakes, and you do make mistakes.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
And the January of twenty ten crime where he committed
the rape in his vehicle or according to the jury
that he was convicted of the rape in Jedburgh, he
wasn't even the pastor yet, so he did this and
then became pastor and then seems like the ball really
started rolling there in the summer between the summer of
(35:53):
twenty ten and twenty eleven, and it.
Speaker 4 (35:55):
Could have been some kind of thing inside of him
that was laying dormant all there, and then this happened
the first time. And you know, I hate to say
it this way, but it's like he got a little tasty.
He was like, I like, like this is something that
he enjoyed doing. As sick as that sounds, but it
(36:15):
was like, I don't know, something that he just another
side of him that came out, and he had to
spend his life trying to keep those separate.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
Yeah, and I feel terrible for his wife and children,
for the people that trusted him, but really, I mean,
of course for the victims, but it was just I
can't imagine the insult to injury. If you have the
courage to come forward and say, hey, this man sexually
(36:47):
assaulted me. The women after the fact saying you know what,
he did the same to me. That's the guy, and
then all these people come and say, no, no, there's
no way he could have done that, and just that's
just twisting the knife. And I hate that that happened.
Speaker 4 (37:04):
And well, there's a lot of times where there is
a reason why victims don't come forward.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
People say, why did you wait so long?
Speaker 4 (37:14):
It's you know, something that they've been dealing with their
whole lives, you know, maybe months, years, decades, and they
don't say anything. And a lot of it does have
to do with the fact that it could it is
a person who's in a position of power, and they
are like, if I come forward, it's me against all
of these people and they're not going to believe me,
(37:36):
and then I'm going to be this like pariah nobody.
Speaker 3 (37:37):
I'm not going to be able to come back or
be believed.
Speaker 4 (37:42):
And then you have someone who does not have a
personal connection to this person who this has happened to,
and then they're like, well, now I feel like I
need to say something because this is another person who's
come forward, and it kind of snowballs from there.
Speaker 2 (37:57):
But it's yeah, it's unfortunate that.
Speaker 4 (38:01):
That can happen to somebody, and a lot of times
it's easier to just keep it to yourself than to
be open about it because you run the risk of
being believed or all this stuff coming out and then
nothing happens, no consequences are faced.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
Well, a side note of interest in this case, and
it was one news channel in Charleston said it was ironic.
But in nineteen seventy eight, Dale Richardson's brother Jean was
convicted of murdering an interior decorator, Phyllis Buchanan in Hannahan,
(38:42):
South Carolina. He lured her he was a house painter
and wanted to speak with her about designs, and then
she ended up missing or body found. We can this
is a whole nother Carolina crimes episode. But Jean richards
And he received a life sentence for that. In Gene
(39:04):
he went up and was denied for parole on the
same day that his brother Dale was sentenced. So how
fired that?
Speaker 3 (39:15):
Wow?
Speaker 2 (39:16):
Yes, so okay, yeah, worth note, worth note, And that's
gonna kind of wrap up this one. A disturbing tale,
a lot of straightforward facts. We didn't want to get
too much into hypotheses with all the different ap local news,
(39:39):
the national news reports that kind of contradicted each other,
Like we said at the beginning on this case, but
this did happen, and this man was convicted of these
crimes and he's going to serve seventeen years. Well, yes
it should be more, but that's my opinion as well.
(39:59):
But we want to thank you for listening to this
week's episode. We also want to shout out a big
thanks to everybody that went over to Carolina Crimesstore dot
com and got them some nice Carolina Crimes paraphernalia to
support the show. Thank you to Ali Stein, Emily Peel,
Stacy Yarboro, and Lisa Curtis. Also those of you that
(40:22):
are listening on Spotify for throwing us a five star review,
and those on Apple iTunes and Apple Podcasts for leaving
a five star review. Thank you to Jimmy Hensley, Stephanie Haygood,
Missus Wicker, m Diddy two three two three two three
two two all right, man, get creative. Thank you to
(40:43):
Julia Williams, to Jess in Mount Pea, to a oh
three goose it's like g o o o o s
s ss the eee e. Thank you to had Majin.
Thank you to Carly Jade. Also thank you to those
of you that reached out on our social media platforms
(41:05):
over on Facebook at Carolina Crimes Podcast, also on I'm
Sorry on Twitter at sc Crimes Pod, and those of
you that sent me messages throughout the week. Thank you
so much. Thank you to Eric A Bell, Daniel Snow,
Kim Hamilton, Eric Cheek, Morgan Wilson, Doctor Reed, Toath, Tiny Willis,
(41:28):
Amanda Hall, David Monteith, Amanda Sinatra, Rebecca Wigert, Ryan People's,
Jennifer Lyons and her pup, Gumbo That, Melissa Young, Evan Steiner,
Holland Seek, Renee Robertson, Christy Maize, Lara, Larry Eastler, Sue rap,
Rose Howe, kimberly, Renee, Jay Pruitt, Britney Watts, Angie Melton,
(41:52):
Sandy Garrison, Eric Priest, Emily Jeffrey, Joe Chimura, Nick pure,
Donnah Millwood, Andrea Christian, Christiansen, Penny Kinard, Amanda Hand, Alison Green,
Terry Pearson, Jenny Glisten, Amanda Hanson, Misty Lanier, Carrie Wallace,
and Ruben Weston. Thank you all very very much. We
(42:16):
certainly appreciate you reaching out to us. We appreciate your support.
Want to say congratulations to my friend Bill Ryan, a
listener and a former South Carolina State trooper for thirty years.
Speaker 4 (42:34):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
Bill and I we kind of speak on the circuit,
trying to keep prevent drugs and alcohol from getting in
the hands of our youth and We've gotten to know
each other that way, and we got to know each
other several several years ago in a professional manner. We
were the real life Smoky in the bandit. But I
(42:57):
want to congratulate him. He is a great man and
he is now the Sheriff elect of Spartanburg County. Wow.
Speaker 5 (43:05):
Congratulations, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (43:08):
Bill, We gave you a shout out. Now I expect
a police escort to the beacon. Not really, let's not
start that right now. But I don't want you to
get you. I don't want to get you in trouble
your first week on the job. Bill. But congratulations to him. Well,
thank you so much for listening to this week's edition
(43:30):
of Carolina Crimes, and we'll see you next week for
episode two thirty seven.
For over three hundred and fifty years, the state of
South Carolina has been the setting for some of the
most horrendous crimes ever committed. Some have gained global notoriety,
some have been forgotten, and others have been swept under
the rug completely. Now, two South Carolina natives and true
(00:25):
crime enthusiasts have teamed up to examine these heinous acts
in detail, giving their perspective of the evil that has
resided in the Palmetto State. You're listening to Carolina Crimes.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
And welcome back to Carolina Crimes, episode two thirty six.
I'm one of your hosts, Matt Hyres, along.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
With Danielle Myers, and.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
We're over the moon thrilled that you joined us here
this week, especially after all those shenanigans last week. We're
talking about Boga von Antel and Tiger King, and I
think he caught a lot of heat online. I did
a lot of feedback. You've never watched it, I know,
and I've got to.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
I did look it up, and you can watch it
on Netflix, which I don't have, so I'll probably get
more flat from that, but I don't.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
I guess I'm living in the eighteen hundreds. In my house.
I don't. I don't know, but.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
Wow, I'm I'm working on it to try. I do
want to watch it so that I can actually have
a conversation. But one thing that I have not done
that I can say.
Speaker 5 (01:32):
That I have officially done as of a couple of
days ago.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Yeah, you scared me. You said you got an announcement
to make to everybody.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
And Megan, is you gonna share?
Speaker 4 (01:40):
Or I went to South of the Border all right,
first time, and I didn't just drive by.
Speaker 5 (01:46):
We stopped and was an experience.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
It was very deserted.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
And and I felt like I was on the set
of a horror movie. Something's gonna happen, don't you dare
Something's gonna happen.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Come on to this podcast and disparage the good name
South of the Border.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
I'm not.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
But I passed these hotels and you can see the
pool out and it's just like chairs everywhere, a couple
pools and not a soul in sight.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
But I did.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
I did look it up, and apparently a few years
ago they put about thirty acres for sale, and that
includes the amusement park. I think some of the hotels
and the mini golf area.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
So I think that.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
I don't know what's going on with that, but apparently
I don't think it's functional.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Is it still for sale?
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Why are you asking?
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Hear me out? I got an idea, of course you do, dude.
If we own part of South of the Border.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
I mean, you wouldn't have to do anything. It's already.
I mean literally everything's there.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
Is just no people, and it's just the weirdest thing
because I'm like, they're so many attractions.
Speaker 5 (03:01):
And it's so much to do, and it's unique.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
Not very many cars and not many people. We did
stop at a store and get a couple of things, but.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
I'll give you some shark teeth necklaces.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
I did not.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I did stropham cowboy hats.
Speaker 5 (03:14):
No, I did see a lot of sombreros.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
So I got to read up on the history of
it a little bit because I did research it, and
I think the part being up for sale maybe I
don't know if it's been purchased, but it's I don't
think it's in use, which would explain a lot of
the things not having any people.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
If you're a realtor from Dylan County, reach out. We
got an idea, So no but yeah, it's a unique place, little,
a little off the wall, not gonna lie, but glad
you got the experience. Yeah, and you'd see why when
seven year old Madison when we rolled up there on
an overnight trip and I was like, wake up, Mama,
(03:51):
took a wrong turn. We're in Mexico and she freaked out.
You see why she would think I get it.
Speaker 5 (03:56):
Yeah in her See you get to see pedro, yeah,
all the sombreros.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
And I like stuff. I like roadside clitchki kinda things
like that.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
And I read that apparently people would honeymoon there.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
Oohang, and it used to be called the merriest marryingess
area because you could get married at fourteen at the
time there without your parents' consent.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Like I said, you learn a lot of stuff when
you research.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
Wow, I don't think that's the thing anymore, but yeah,
you could spend a whole trip there, stay and.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
See the reptile lagoon that was that was really cool.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
And then play some mini golf and go to the
amusement park.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Yeah that's us, that's us.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
But yeah, I got to experience it.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Running a place like that's not too far off from
what I could have been.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
I guess, well, you didn't aim high enough.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
I guess I guess not. But if you would like to, uh,
let's get into some housekeeping and maybe some folks will
feel very generous and maybe help us on our way
to owning a portion of South of the Border.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
I don't know why you're saying us.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yeah, but good business deal, make a good partnership. But
I am not interested in purchasing South of the Border.
But for those of you just joining us, if you
haven't followed us on social media, here on the podcast,
we do get serious. Sorry, we don't normally banter like
(05:31):
that at the beginning, but that was very interesting.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
I had, I had, I had to make up for
not seeing Tiger King. So I have now been checked
something else off my list.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
You've been indicated.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Thank you appreciate it just a little.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Yes. So if you're not already following us on social media,
you can go back and see pictures, put some faces
with some names of everybody from this case and all
of our previous cases. On Facebook, we're at Carolina Crimes Podcast.
Also over on Twitter where we're at sc Crimes pod.
If you'd like to support the show for free, If
(06:05):
you're listening on Spotify, Apple iTunes, Apple Podcasts, please throw
us a five star review and match that purple subscribe button.
Let us know a little something that you like about
the show. After the show today, we'll have a lot
of thank you for folks that did do that. Also,
if you'd like to support the show monetarily and contribute
to our potential purchase of South of the Border, please
(06:29):
go to Carolina crimesstore dot com. Look at your sweet
swag and I've had some I've had tons of requests
to update that stuff and I've just folks. I apologize.
It's a busy time of year. We've had football season
going on. It just started this past Friday on the
air with that doing research for that, had to put
(06:51):
on a golf tournament this week for Old Dorothy Day
Soup Kitchen. I appreciate everybody that helped us with that.
It's Carolina Crimes Podcast was one of the spot whole
sponsors there and we raised a lot of money for
those in need. And like I said on our Facebook post,
please if you're I know everybody out there has a
good heart, and I mean find those in need, find
(07:14):
those organizations in your community and please give back, but
head on over to Carolina crimestore dot com. Get you
some sweet sweet Carolina crimes paraphernalia and make this dream
of South of the Border country only kidding you. Get
you some good shirts.
Speaker 5 (07:33):
Okay, I think we're gonna have a long way to go,
but so enough.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Of this BS Today, Episode two thirty six. The real
reason you're here, This is one I'm gonna go ahead
and give a disclaimer. It does deal with sexual assault,
sexual abuse, sexual themes. So if you've got some young years,
(07:57):
maybe listening you discretion as you see fit. But this
one's going to come to us out of Ladson, South Carolina.
Now Ladson, it's considered a suburban community. It's still unincorporated
in the Charleston metroplex, and the boundaries of the town
actually overlay the corner of three counties, Charleston, Berkeley, and
(08:21):
Dorchester counties, so it's right there. Basically, if you're living
like a two person household, one person's got a job
in Somerville, one in Charleston. This is kind of a
boy the perfect place.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Yeah, a good little in between.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Yes it is now. The Ladson area was just a
small rural area southeast of Somerville until the construction of
I twenty six in the nineteen sixties. The community itself
was named for John Ladson, one of South Carolina's first
settlers who arrived in sixteen seventy nine. Now, the Ladson
(08:59):
family that became wealthy through rice in Indigo that they
grew on their plantations, and the family was not only
wealthy but very politically influential in holding several offices in
South Carolina. And I think the top office some of
the descendants of John Ladson attained was James Ladson, who
(09:21):
was Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina in the seventeen nineties.
Now Ladson's there were French Huguenots, and they built a
chapel there, the Blue House Tavern, which I think was
kind of a boarding place to a lot like we
mentioned in the Lavinia Fisher episode six Mile House something
like that, but just a different direction than her House
(09:44):
of Horrors.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
In nineteen oh five, the Southern Railway Depot was built
in Ladson, and today's population is thirteen thousand, eight hundred people.
Big shout out. Ladson Elementary was constructed in nineteen seventy five.
I had an internship back there in college, really in
my senior year with the Faith Todds. She was Faith
(10:07):
Ellis back then her kindergarten class. Ladson's also right there
on the cusp. I don't know if it's considered North Charleston.
Some say Ladson, some say North Charleston. But Charleston Southern
University used to be the Baptist College and also Trident Hospital,
which is right across the street. Some of the more
famous folks to have hailed from or lived in Ladson
(10:30):
Harold Green from Stratford High School. He was a one
time NFL Pro Bowl running back with the Cincinnati Bengals,
Saint Louis ran Rams, and Atlanta Falcons. Also a usc
Gangcock and Tony Ellen. He was a top ranked American
pool player whose life was cut short in an auto
(10:51):
accident at the age of thirty four. So then this
was early two thousands, so definitely a tragedy there. Okay,
So we handed out one disclaimer. We're gonna hand out
another one here before we get started. For this case
to be so recent, this was one of the hardest
(11:13):
ones I ever had to research because going through the
Associated Press, local news posts, online newspapers, Fox News, they
all had articles about this crime, but their timelines were
(11:34):
all over the place. So what I did was try
to piece this thing together. I mean, the events are
what happened, but the timelines, you know, one would put
one event before the other, and it was it was
very confusing. Finally I got a Live five News article.
They had a timeline, and that's that's kind of what
(11:55):
I'm gonna go off of. But okay, I mean, we'll
put the sources in there and you see for yourself
in the show notes, it was wild.
Speaker 4 (12:04):
I've had that happen before. I have to piece meal
because the ages are different, the dates.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
And I'm like, hold on. So that's where the research
comes from.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Yes, And also, religion is gonna come into play in
this episode, and I want to make it very clear
that we are not condemning any religion. We're not condemning
any sect of faith or denomination or what people believe.
(12:34):
This is about an individual. This is not about a religion.
It just so happens he was involved in that community.
So let's keep that in mind and we go forward.
So we're going to go to July of twenty eleven
and on Carolina Commerce Parkway near Ladson it's a roads
(12:58):
close to eye, twenty six Rivers Avenue, all of that
around there. A young woman emerged from a wooded area
in obvious distress. She was a bit disoriented and she
was asking for help, trying to get people to listen
to her, saying, Hey, I need to talk to someone.
(13:21):
I needed you to call the police. The young lady
was twenty years old, and she asked Good Samaritans to
phone the police that she needed help. When the North
Charleston police arrived, she unloaded an absolutely shocking story. She
said that earlier that morning, around noon, she was forced
(13:47):
into a vehicle by a stocky white man came up
behind her, put her in a car, and when she
tried to get out of the white pickup truck, the
older man pulled a gun on her and bound her hands.
She then said that the man covered her head with
(14:09):
a pillow case and started driving for about twenty to
thirty minutes. When he stopped the truck. He took the
terrified twenty year old into an uninhabited building where he
raped her at gunpoint. After the assault, he dropped her
off into a wooded area, through her purse in her
(14:31):
general direction and told her not to turn around or
he'd shoot her. He told her just to walk and
to keep walking and if she didn't, if she turned around,
she'd be dead. So she walked the straight line, got
her purse, and finally came out of the woods around
Carolina Commerce Parkway. The young lady she had a very
(14:57):
good description of her attacker and the least, we're surprised
to say the least when they started hearing about his identity,
and she had one good piece of information that could help.
She said that he had this placard hanging from his
rear view mirror had his name on it, but all
she could make out was that his last name started
(15:19):
with an R. Okay, And before we get any further
into this tale, we are going to take our first
break and come right back and get into the investigation
into this crime and exactly what happened there in Ladson.
Folks will be right back after this quick word from
our sponsors. Hi friends, Matt Hire's here. One of my
(15:50):
favorite parts of bringing you Carolina Crimes each week is
spotlighting the many wonderful towns and communities within our great state.
And today I'm proud to encourage you all the time
check out one of my personal favorites. Rather on a
road trip or a weekend getaway, discover Mullins. Once a
vibrant depot town and the former tobacco capital of South Carolina,
(16:12):
Mullins is a hidden treasure in the PD region. Explore
our offerings by savoring a cup of coffee at our
delightful coffee shop, enjoying lunch at any of our charming restaurants,
visiting old brick Square, and shopping at our quaint retail stores,
which include an antique market located in a repurposed tobacco warehouse.
(16:34):
Your visit would not be complete without a stop at
the South Carolina Tobacco Museum, situated in the historic train
depot in downtown Mullens, South Carolina. Here you can explore
various exhibits such as models of tobacco plants at each
growth stage, a blacksmith shop, a log tobacco barn filled
with cure tobacco, a farmhouse kitchen showcasing vintage equipment, and
(16:57):
a photo gallery highlighting contemporary tobacco practices. The Mullins Room
honors our town's origins and its swift growth driven by
the railroad and the tobacco industry. Additionally, in late June
twenty twenty five, the Reverend Daniel Simmons Museum will open
its doors to the public. Within the Tobacco Museum, Reverend
(17:18):
Simmons was one of the victims of the Mother Emmanuel
nine tragedy, and he spent his childhood in Mullins and
worked in its tobacco warehouses. Thanks to a generous loan
from his daughter Rose, we will exhibit many of his
personal belongings, including his beloved Bible. The documentary of his life,
One Last Breath, will be continuously streamed in the museum.
(17:40):
Rather it's for a road trip or a weekend getaway,
Mullins is a perfect place to visit and a place
to call home. Visit Mullins, South Carolina, and welcome back
(18:24):
to Carolina Crimes, episode two thirty six, and this terrifying
story this young lady told North Charleston police when they
responded to the scene where she emerged out of the Woods,
Carolina Commerce Parkway and telling people that she was forcibly
kidnapped and rape. We're gonna switch gears a little bit,
(18:46):
and we're gonna talk about a man by the name
of Dale Richardson Okay Dale. He was a forty six
year old husband and father. He was a jovial man
who lived in a well kept, little yellow house in Somerville.
Dale for the most part, was very well liked and
(19:08):
he's described as kind and outgoing and would always help
those in need. Dale would cut elderly neighbors grass for them,
counsel them and give them advice because, after all, helping
others was a part of his job. You see. Dale
was the head pastor at Freedom Free Will Baptist Church
(19:32):
in Latson. Did a little digging into this because I
go to a Baptist church, remember there, but free Will
Baptists are a little different. I've had friends that are
free Will Baptists, and I'm trying to say Baptist churches.
(19:55):
I don't want to say normal or regularly, but just
Baptist churches. What they believe in is, you know, you
give your profession of faith, your baptized, submerged underwater, and
you are saved from your sins. What free will Baptists
believe is that your salvation is conditional. You can have
(20:17):
faith in God, but you can also if you stray
from that. You know your salvation is not guaranteed. It
is up to your own free will. Okay, they have
some old school practices. This is just coming from the
people that I know that are free will Baptist. Symbolism
(20:40):
of washing feet, washing each other's, no alcohol, very traditional,
rudimentary music. I mean, you're not going to see more
than likely not to see electric guitars or anything like
that or any of the yeah, anything like that at
a free will Baptist church. Well, the church building itself
(21:03):
was nothing ostentageous. It was just a simple brick sanctuary
with a painted cinder block addition on the back that
was used for Sunday school or church activities, and it
was situated actually beside a railroad track. Now on the
church's website was Dale Richardson's bio and it read that
(21:27):
he became a Christian at a tent revival in nineteen
seventy nine, the age of fourteen, that he studied at
Liberty University and began preaching in two thousand and six.
He had been the head pastor at Freedom Free Will
Baptists for a little over a year in July of
twenty eleven when this event occurred, and he actually had
(21:52):
a good following about fifty regular members attended, and Richardson
was well long by both his congregation and his neighbors,
didn't have a criminal record, and was just described as
a big, sweet guy. Yeah. This made it all the
more shocking when the sexual assault victim that emerged from
(22:15):
the Woods identified Dale Richardson as her attacker. She actually
id'd him from his photo on the church's website.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
Oh so it wasn't like a lineup, No.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Said, that is him. Well, Dorchester County deputies they aided
in the investigation, and the following day after the report
came in, warrants for kidnapping and sexual assault were issued.
Now Dale was arrested at his home without incident, and
when the news of his arrest spread, those that knew
(22:54):
him were shocked and quite frankly, they.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
Had a hard time believing understandable.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
One neighbor she actually was quoted as saying just that
she did. She didn't believe he could he was capable
of doing anything like this. His congregation rallied around him
and his family when they saw it on the local news.
And I tried to put myself in this situation, and
(23:22):
I was thinking, and me and my brother, your husband.
We've been in this situation. We were extremely close friends
with a guy growing up, played sports with him, went
to school with him, got in a lot of trouble.
In fact, he was, you know, considered a leader of
(23:46):
our class, leader of some of our teams. And when
the news broke, now it wasn't anything like this, no murder,
anything like that. But when we heard that he had
gotten in legal trouble, my first reaction was, I don't
believe it.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
You have the wrong person.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
Yeah, that's that's a misprint. Somebody got the wrong name.
No way in the world that could happen to this person,
but it did. He did, it paid his debt to society.
He's back, he's back to being the wonderful person that
(24:30):
he was and always has been. But he made a
mistake and broke the law.
Speaker 4 (24:36):
But I.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
You know, we talk about some of these cases and
a lot of times it's the family that they come
out and they're like, no, this person didn't do this,
or yeah, you know a parent, my baby wouldn't have
been able to do this. And we talk about that
a lot. But when you talk about the community, the church, congregation,
neighbors coming out and being like, no, there's you've got
the wrong dude.
Speaker 4 (25:00):
They probably I mean, you go to these sermons on Sunday,
they might have like Wednesday night church and other things.
Most of these people you obviously probably know the family
really well. They have this family community in the church.
They've probably been you know, guided by him, gone like
(25:20):
one on one, yeah, having conversations about personal things and
maybe struggling with stuff. And so you only know this
person in this one way, and you're like, every time
I've been around them, they've always been very giving, very loving, always.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
Been there for me.
Speaker 4 (25:35):
I've never once felt anything. So you kind of can't
help but be like this, this can't be it, because
you know, people will only allow you to see what
they want you to see about themselves. Sometimes not all
the time, but sometimes, and you know, when stuff like
that happens, you just kind of have to have stuff
(25:56):
come out and hopefully maybe they're wrong, yeah, or maybe
you have enough where you got to admit, yeah, this
is a person I didn't know.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Yeah, And it's hard to accept if this is someone
that you've trusted because deep down, kind of subconsciously, you're like,
I don't want to admit that I'm wrong about this person,
but sometimes you are.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
Well and it makes you also question other people in
your life. You know, there are other people that you're like,
You've never given me any red flags. I've never had
any reason to think that you could do something like this.
But if he can do it, who's to say you can't?
And it kind of breaks your trust in humanity a
little bit.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Well, the doubts that this community and his congregation had,
they soon started to diminish because when due to the
news reports coming out, more women started coming forward. They
(26:56):
had a lot to say about this matter to the police.
And we'll get into exactly what they said after this
last break, and we're going to get into the meat
of this story about how this story and Dale Richardson,
this whole situation started to unravel. Folks will be right
(27:18):
back after this quick word from our sponsors, and welcome
(27:44):
back to Carolina Crimes, Episode two thirty six, and these
serious allegations against the pastor Dale Richardson in Lads in
South Carolina, that he kidnapped and raped a twenty year
old woman in July of twenty eleven. And before the break,
(28:07):
we talked about things were gonna get a whole lot
more dark, both for the community and for Dale Richardson
when more accusers began to come forward. So after the
arrest of forty six year old Dale Richardson, other events
started to come to light, both disturbing and disgusting allegations.
(28:32):
A woman came forward and said in August of twenty
ten that Dale Richardson took her to an uninhabited mobile
home right behind Freedom Free Will Baptist and she was
raped and forced to perform oral sex on Richardson.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
At gunpoint, right behind the church.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
This is on church property. They own that mobile home.
Also in twenty ten, a woman came forward to tell
authorities that she had been kidnapped by Richardson, but not
sexually assaulted. This was in Somerville, South Carolina. In January
(29:19):
of twenty ten, a woman came forward and said during
that time period that she had been kidnapped and she
had been raped in his vehicle in Jedburgh, South Carolina,
which is right there near Lincolnville, Summerville, all around that
Latson area. So already in jail and arrested on a
(29:43):
one million dollar bond. More charges were filed against Dale Richardson,
and on August eighteenth, of twenty eleven, his bond was revoked.
The charges that he were facing were or four charges
of four counts of kidnapping, three counts of first degree
(30:06):
sexual assault, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
After this, his church they removed his name from their sign. Okay,
his preaching credentials were suspended by the South Carolina Free
(30:29):
Will Baptist State Association due to his misconduct or charges
of misconduct. And when reporters started to dig a little deeper,
they contacted Liberty University. Remember in his bio he said
he studied at Liberty University, but there were no records
of Dale Richardson ever being a student there. So I
(30:53):
don't know if he trumped up those things and lied
on his resume. I mean, this is yeah, the Internet's around.
I mean, you can't, you can't do that. So his
trial was set for November thirteenth of twenty thirteen in
the Dorchester County county seat of Saint George. Always find
(31:16):
that fascinating. Saint George is not that big a town.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
I've driven by it, Yes, drive by it on I.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
Ninety five and Dorchester. It has a lot larger towns,
mainly Somerville, but Saint George is the county seat. That's
where the circuit court is held. All the county government
is right there. Glenn Justice, he represented the solicitor's office,
(31:43):
or if you're not familiar with South Carolina Lingo, that's
the prosecutor. And the trial commenced. But on the second
day of the trial, Dale Richardson, he took a plea
deal and he pled guilty to kidney and sexual criminal
sexual conduct. When the senacing came around, part of the
(32:08):
plea deal was he was gonna admit he was guilty,
but also they would not proceed further with other charges. Okay,
When sentacing came around, there was going to be a
thirty year max for each of these each of these
crimes that he was convicted of, and he received a
(32:30):
twenty year sentence maybe because of his plea. I can't
get into why. Yeah, I don't know what was going through.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Well, a sentencing a lot is determined off of the plea.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Yes, and keep in mind he didn't have a previous
criminal record, but he was given twenty years. He had
credit for time serve. He had remained in jail with
no bond from twenty eleven to twenty thirteen, so he
got credit for those two years, which means essentially he'll
(33:04):
serve around seventeen and a half years in South Carolina
Department of Corrections where he's at now, and he's scheduled
to be released in twenty twenty eight.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
I saw that far.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
No, it's not now. Judge Mate Murphy had some choice
words for Richardson. Murphy said, you were the pastor of
a church. Rather than healing the people who needed it most,
you took advantage of them in the most horrible way.
(33:41):
Richardson at his sentencing, he apologized, He was remorseful, He
apologized to the families and to the women that he hurt.
He apologized to his own family, church family, and it
seemed like this was just a double life. This guy was. Yeah,
I don't know if he set himself up to maybe
(34:06):
it's hard to say, but I don't know if he
set himself up to be in a position of power
where he could do this to women, or if he
became a pastor with all good intentions and then he
felt the power and was tempted. And I don't even think, really,
I wouldn't even say tempted because temptation kind of goes
(34:29):
two ways. I mean, it's somebody wanting it or wanting
it to happen. But he asserted his power over these women,
and he may have thought that he was invincible and
he was going to do whatever he wanted for sexual pleasures.
Speaker 4 (34:49):
Well, and a lot of times sex crimes, people think
it's not about sex. It's about power, having that control
over people, instilling that fear. So that goes hand in
hand with his leadership role at the church. And also,
you know, maybe he got a little comfortable because he
(35:09):
had been getting away.
Speaker 2 (35:10):
With this, yeah, for about a year and a half.
Speaker 3 (35:13):
I mean, he had had multiple victims.
Speaker 4 (35:15):
Nobody had said anything, and sometimes people get a little
comfortable thinking, getting a little cocky, thinking, well, the police
haven't found me yet, so obviously I'm you know, not
making mistakes, and you do make mistakes.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
And the January of twenty ten crime where he committed
the rape in his vehicle or according to the jury
that he was convicted of the rape in Jedburgh, he
wasn't even the pastor yet, so he did this and
then became pastor and then seems like the ball really
started rolling there in the summer between the summer of
(35:53):
twenty ten and twenty eleven, and it.
Speaker 4 (35:55):
Could have been some kind of thing inside of him
that was laying dormant all there, and then this happened
the first time. And you know, I hate to say
it this way, but it's like he got a little tasty.
He was like, I like, like this is something that
he enjoyed doing. As sick as that sounds, but it
(36:15):
was like, I don't know, something that he just another
side of him that came out, and he had to
spend his life trying to keep those separate.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
Yeah, and I feel terrible for his wife and children,
for the people that trusted him, but really, I mean,
of course for the victims, but it was just I
can't imagine the insult to injury. If you have the
courage to come forward and say, hey, this man sexually
(36:47):
assaulted me. The women after the fact saying you know what,
he did the same to me. That's the guy, and
then all these people come and say, no, no, there's
no way he could have done that, and just that's
just twisting the knife. And I hate that that happened.
Speaker 4 (37:04):
And well, there's a lot of times where there is
a reason why victims don't come forward.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
People say, why did you wait so long?
Speaker 4 (37:14):
It's you know, something that they've been dealing with their
whole lives, you know, maybe months, years, decades, and they
don't say anything. And a lot of it does have
to do with the fact that it could it is
a person who's in a position of power, and they
are like, if I come forward, it's me against all
of these people and they're not going to believe me,
(37:36):
and then I'm going to be this like pariah nobody.
Speaker 3 (37:37):
I'm not going to be able to come back or
be believed.
Speaker 4 (37:42):
And then you have someone who does not have a
personal connection to this person who this has happened to,
and then they're like, well, now I feel like I
need to say something because this is another person who's
come forward, and it kind of snowballs from there.
Speaker 2 (37:57):
But it's yeah, it's unfortunate that.
Speaker 4 (38:01):
That can happen to somebody, and a lot of times
it's easier to just keep it to yourself than to
be open about it because you run the risk of
being believed or all this stuff coming out and then
nothing happens, no consequences are faced.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
Well, a side note of interest in this case, and
it was one news channel in Charleston said it was ironic.
But in nineteen seventy eight, Dale Richardson's brother Jean was
convicted of murdering an interior decorator, Phyllis Buchanan in Hannahan,
(38:42):
South Carolina. He lured her he was a house painter
and wanted to speak with her about designs, and then
she ended up missing or body found. We can this
is a whole nother Carolina crimes episode. But Jean richards
And he received a life sentence for that. In Gene
(39:04):
he went up and was denied for parole on the
same day that his brother Dale was sentenced. So how
fired that?
Speaker 3 (39:15):
Wow?
Speaker 2 (39:16):
Yes, so okay, yeah, worth note, worth note, And that's
gonna kind of wrap up this one. A disturbing tale,
a lot of straightforward facts. We didn't want to get
too much into hypotheses with all the different ap local news,
(39:39):
the national news reports that kind of contradicted each other,
Like we said at the beginning on this case, but
this did happen, and this man was convicted of these
crimes and he's going to serve seventeen years. Well, yes
it should be more, but that's my opinion as well.
(39:59):
But we want to thank you for listening to this
week's episode. We also want to shout out a big
thanks to everybody that went over to Carolina Crimesstore dot
com and got them some nice Carolina Crimes paraphernalia to
support the show. Thank you to Ali Stein, Emily Peel,
Stacy Yarboro, and Lisa Curtis. Also those of you that
(40:22):
are listening on Spotify for throwing us a five star review,
and those on Apple iTunes and Apple Podcasts for leaving
a five star review. Thank you to Jimmy Hensley, Stephanie Haygood,
Missus Wicker, m Diddy two three two three two three
two two all right, man, get creative. Thank you to
(40:43):
Julia Williams, to Jess in Mount Pea, to a oh
three goose it's like g o o o o s
s ss the eee e. Thank you to had Majin.
Thank you to Carly Jade. Also thank you to those
of you that reached out on our social media platforms
(41:05):
over on Facebook at Carolina Crimes Podcast, also on I'm
Sorry on Twitter at sc Crimes Pod, and those of
you that sent me messages throughout the week. Thank you
so much. Thank you to Eric A Bell, Daniel Snow,
Kim Hamilton, Eric Cheek, Morgan Wilson, Doctor Reed, Toath, Tiny Willis,
(41:28):
Amanda Hall, David Monteith, Amanda Sinatra, Rebecca Wigert, Ryan People's,
Jennifer Lyons and her pup, Gumbo That, Melissa Young, Evan Steiner,
Holland Seek, Renee Robertson, Christy Maize, Lara, Larry Eastler, Sue rap,
Rose Howe, kimberly, Renee, Jay Pruitt, Britney Watts, Angie Melton,
(41:52):
Sandy Garrison, Eric Priest, Emily Jeffrey, Joe Chimura, Nick pure,
Donnah Millwood, Andrea Christian, Christiansen, Penny Kinard, Amanda Hand, Alison Green,
Terry Pearson, Jenny Glisten, Amanda Hanson, Misty Lanier, Carrie Wallace,
and Ruben Weston. Thank you all very very much. We
(42:16):
certainly appreciate you reaching out to us. We appreciate your support.
Want to say congratulations to my friend Bill Ryan, a
listener and a former South Carolina State trooper for thirty years.
Speaker 4 (42:34):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
Bill and I we kind of speak on the circuit,
trying to keep prevent drugs and alcohol from getting in
the hands of our youth and We've gotten to know
each other that way, and we got to know each
other several several years ago in a professional manner. We
were the real life Smoky in the bandit. But I
(42:57):
want to congratulate him. He is a great man and
he is now the Sheriff elect of Spartanburg County. Wow.
Speaker 5 (43:05):
Congratulations, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (43:08):
Bill, We gave you a shout out. Now I expect
a police escort to the beacon. Not really, let's not
start that right now. But I don't want you to
get you. I don't want to get you in trouble
your first week on the job. Bill. But congratulations to him. Well,
thank you so much for listening to this week's edition
(43:30):
of Carolina Crimes, and we'll see you next week for
episode two thirty seven.
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