Newtown Man Arrested For Kidnapping Attempt

EASTON – Easton police arrested a Newtown man on a warrant October 21, charging him with second-degree attempted kidnapping in connection with his alleged October 11 abduction attempt of a 16-year-old Redding girl along Sport Hill Road near the Easton/Redding town line.

Easton police said they charged Richard F. Crouch, 39, of 31 Hi Barlow Road, Newtown, in the case.

Police said the girl walked into a small cemetery just south of Rock House Road, and while looking at some headstones she was approached by Crouch, who grabbed her from behind and attempted to force her over a stone wall into a wooded area. The girl pulled away and Crouch fled the area on a bicycle, police said.

Easton police searched Crouch’s residence on October 14 and seized evidence in the case, police said.

Easton police said Crouch is on probation for a 1997 offense in Newtown for which he was convicted of risk of injury to a minor after exposing himself to three children at the Orchard Hill Nature Center.

 Crouch was arraigned October 22 in Bridgeport Superior Court on the attempted kidnapping charge. He was being held Wednesday in Bridgeport Correctional Center on a $100,000 bond for a future court appearance, a Department of Correction spokeswoman said.