A Spirit Lake man has been indicted for sexual abuse of a minor after allegedly having sex with a 13-year-old.
Todd Raphael Richotte, 23, was arrested last week in Devils Lake after federal charges were filed on Tuesday, Sept. 8. According to court documents, Fort Totten Police Chief Terry McCloud notified the FBI on July 9, 2019, that a minor child had told him she was pregnant with Richotte's child.
The child was forensically interviewed, and DNA samples were collected from both her and her child, who was born earlier this year.
She declined to disclose the identity of the child's father in the forensic interview and stated that she had already told McCloud who it was, according to documents. She told interviewers that she had consensual sex with Richotte in a Fort Totten residence in May 2019.
In a September interview at the Lake Region Law Enforcement Center, Richotte told investigators that he met the child during the summer of 2018 and they had sex twice. He said he believed she was almost 18, according to documents.
ADVERTISEMENT
FBI Special Agent Jacquelyn Rosenow estimated that Richotte was about 20 to 21 during this timeframe, and the child was about 12 to 13.
A DNA sample was taken from Richotte on Sept. 4, and lab results could take a month or more to obtain.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Alice Senechal ordered Richotte to remain incarcerated until his trial after he waived his right to a detention hearing on Wednesday, Sept. 16. A court date has yet to be set in the case.
