Man who took upskirt photos convicted of sexual assault in 1987

JAMES CITY COUNTY, Va. – A man who fled from Williamsburg to Florida on a sailboat to avoid charges related to illegal upskirt photos was sentenced Monday in an unsolved 1987 sexual assault case that DNA analysis linked to him.

Earlier this year, a grand jury indicted 61-year-old Richard Lee Gibson on charges of rape, kidnapping with intent to defile, two counts of penetration with an inanimate object, two counts of sodomy and aggravated sexual assault. The charges date back to December 10, 1987.

RELATED: Man who fled to Florida on sailboat after upskirt photos now faces unsolved sexual assault cases dating to 1987

James City County police said that day, a man abducted a victim in a portion of the Midlands Apartment Complex under construction and committed multiple sex offenses against him. Despite an investigation, police were never able to develop a suspect profile and the case was eventually closed.

In 2019, the attacker's DNA was submitted to the Virginia DNA database, although no match was found. Subsequently, both the Virginia and national DNA databases will be queried at regular intervals in case a match is found at a later date.

Fast forward to October 2022, when Williamsburg police accused Gibson of placing his cellphone between an unsuspecting woman's legs while recording. Two misdemeanor warrants were issued, but Gibson evaded arrest.

RELATED: Man who fled Williamsburg in sailboat after making upskirt videos arrested in Florida

In March 2023, a person spotted Gibson sailing on the Caloosahatchee River in Florida. Recognizing him from media reports, she called the Lee County Sheriff's Office.

Gibson was taken into custody in Florida and eventually extradited to Virginia. Investigators said Gibson intentionally fled Virginia in a sailboat on the Intracoastal Waterway.

While in custody, a DNA sample was taken, which months later showed a match with the unsolved 1987 case in the DNA database.

Police gave Gibson his grand jury indictment while he was still incarcerated at the Virginia Regional Peninsula Jail on the upskirt charges in Williamsburg. Earlier this month, he entered an Alford plea, in which a defendant acknowledges there is sufficient evidence for a conviction but does not admit guilt.

On Monday, a judge sentenced Gibson to life in prison for the 1987 rape, with 35.5 years of the 61-year-old's sentence suspended.