Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith reports the arrest of a 45 year-old Ossining, New York man on criminal charges accusing him of sexually assaulting a ten year-old child at a private residence in the Town of Philipstown.

In December of 2008, Senior Investigator Vincent Martin of the Sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Investigation and members of the Putnam County Child Advocacy Center's multidisciplinary team, initiated an investigation after they learned that a ten year-old child was raped at a house in Philipstown in the spring of 2005. The investigation led to identifying Mr. Richard Anderson of 6 Hillcrest Avenue, Ossining, New York as the suspected attacker. Numerous attempts to locate Mr. Anderson went unsuccessful until July 2nd of this year when investigators received a tip as to his whereabouts.

Senior Investigator Martin located Mr. Anderson at a friend's home in Westchester County and took him into custody. He was returned to the Sheriff's office and charged with Rape in the First Degree, a class "B" violent felony crime. Mr. Anderson was arraigned before Philipstown Town Justice Alan Steiner and remanded to the Putnam County Correctional Facility in lieu of $50,000 cash bail or secured bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on July 14, 2010. Additionally, Justice Steiner issued an Order of Protection on behalf of the victim preventing Mr. Anderson from having any further contact with the child.

If convicted of Rape in the First Degree, Mr. Anderson may be sentenced to a jail term from five years to twenty-five years in a New York State correctional facility as determined by a court.