IMPD sergeant released from prison for child abuse and pornography

INDIANAPOLIS – The IMPD sergeant accused of child molestation and possession of child pornography has been released from the Marion County Jail.

A judge issued the order on Monday, August 26. Prison records show he was released shortly after 5:30 p.m. that same day.

Javed Richards faces 14 charges, all of which include “aggravating circumstances.”

Richards, who has worked for the Indianapolis Metro Police Department for 12 years, was arrested following a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Richards paid his $4,000 bail until August 22, but was not released until police confiscated his weapons and passports.

According to court documents, five weapons and three passports were seized from Richard's home.

As a condition of his release, prosecutors required that Richards wear a GPS device and remain in Marion County. The judge denied the request for GPS monitoring, but granted the request that Richards remain in the county.

Richard's next hearing is Thursday, August 29th at 9am.

His trial is currently scheduled for October 24.

(NOTE: The video at the top of this story is from Richards' first hearing on August 22.)

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On August 6, an investigator with the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploitation Children, a national clearinghouse for missing and exploited children that alerts law enforcement to material involving sexually exploited children uploaded or downloaded online.

A week later, investigators received evidence that an IP address was traced back to a private home router with the same name as Richards, who has worked at the department for 12 years and was most recently assigned to the Internal Affairs Division.

On August 16, the investigator obtained additional evidence through search warrants that confirmed the alleged suspect was Richards. At that time, investigators from IMPD's Special Investigations Unit were notified and joined the investigation.

According to court documents, during that investigation, investigators constructed a timeline over a weekend during which GPS data from Richards' body camera showed a stop outside his apartment, followed by child pornography files uploaded from a Kik messenger app account that first used a VPN and then switched to a private internet IP address at Richards' address.

According to court documents, Kik Messenger records seized under a search warrant show that the Kik account was involved in the trading of child pornography files.

Further investigation revealed that a VPN IP address used to access Richards' personal email account was later misused to share child pornography.

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When questioned by investigators on Monday, August 19, Richards allegedly admitted to having a Kik account before, but denied it at the time. When asked about the specific Kik account as part of the investigation, Richards allegedly said, “Whatever happened in that moment, whatever it was, it's not who I am, right? It's not who I am.”

While Richards was being questioned, according to court documents, detectives executed search warrants at his home, collected documents and found a router broadcasting the same IP address used to upload the child pornography to Kik.

Richards was taken into custody and arrested that same day on 12 counts of child abuse, all Level 4 felonies.

According to court documents, bail was set at $4,000 in the case and an initial hearing was scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday, August 22.

On Wednesday, August 21, the public prosecutor's office filed charges on 13 counts of child exploitation and one count of possession of child pornography.

“I am deeply shocked and disturbed by the allegations against an IMPD officer. His alleged actions represent a betrayal of our sacred oath to protect and serve our community. These actions do not reflect the character of the brave men and women who serve Indianapolis every day with integrity and dedication,” IMPD Chief Chris Bailey said in a statement. “The exploitation of children through pornography is an unimaginable crime that causes lasting harm to our most vulnerable. I commend the tireless dedication of our Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit investigators. Their efforts in investigating, prosecuting and formulating responses to these heinous crimes ensure that those who exploit children are held accountable.”

On August 19, Bailey suspended Richards from his position pending a recommendation for termination from IMPD's Civilian Police Merit Board.

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Kristina Korobov, senior attorney at the Zero Abuse Project, said this type of crime can occur in any profession and there is no one-size-fits-all type.

“It is truly a crime that knows no boundaries. It is a crime that knows no boundaries. An offender can actually be in any profession. However, it is always worrying when that person holds a position of trust,” Korobov said.

Korobov said we all have to do our part to eliminate child abuse.

“Be vigilant. If you see something disturbing on a colleague's device or computer, or hear them talking about things that seem disturbing, speak up,” Korobov said. “Another thing is to educate our children. We're finding that this behavior is starting earlier and earlier in children. They now have access to pornography on the Internet, and that includes child pornography.”