A suspected child rapist was arrested in Eastern Massachusetts early Friday after his alleged attempt to hang himself failed, authorities said.
Rickland Powell, 59, was hanging from a tree in a wooded area in Stoneham, about nine miles north of Boston, when the police and their K-9 team found him at about 3 a.m. after a nightlong search, the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) said.
The officers cut the suspect down and transported him to a hospital, the MSP said. Powell is accused of raping a child multiple times and faces a four-count charge of child rape, a four-count charge of aggravated statutory rape, a two-count charge of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, as well as charges of posing the child in a sex act and distributing obscene material, per the MSP. (RELATED: ‘Sheer Power And Authority’: Former Cop Convicted Of Raping Teen While On The Job)
Mass. man sexually assaulted, photographed girl multiple times, DA says | Click on the image to read the full story https://t.co/S7jzSXmdFK
— WCVB-TV Boston (@WCVB) December 2, 2023
Powell is reportedly held in the custody of the Belmont Police Department (BPD). BPD officers searched his Belmont home Nov. 28 and found media files, photographs, and other items, the BPD said. Officers reportedly located Powell in Andover, about 20 miles north of Belmont, Nov. 30, but he sped off in his vehicle. A fugitive, Powell had been on the run until officers reportedly located him in the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Stoneham.
Powell was arraigned Friday and held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing to be held Dec.8, the BPD said.