Vincentian, who is a Police Officer in the USA on child pornography charges

A former St Vincent Grammar School (SVGS) student turned Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) officer, is currently facing up to 162 years in prison in the United States of America (USA), if convicted on child pornography charges.

Originally from Lowmans Windward, IMPD Sergeant, Javed Richards faces 12 counts of child exploitation, all Level Four felonies.

According to reports, a cyber tip involving sexual child abuse material being uploaded and/or downloaded online was submitted to the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children, and later passed on to detectives assigned to the Internet Crime Against Children Unit.

The online Fox 39 publication, said that investigators learned the suspect may be an IMPD officer and as a result they notified detectives at the IMPD’s Special Investigation Unit.

Richards a 12-year veteran of IMPD was later arrested. At the time of his arrest, he was attached to the Internal Affairs Unit, a job which sees him as an investigator of officers suspected of criminal activity.

The Vincentian has had an esteemed career as a police officer in the USA. In 2015, Richards was awarded the Medal of Valor and the Purple Heart for wounds he received in a gun battle with a man on the city’s east side, while in 2016, Richards was recognized by the Indiana State Police for helping save a crash victim’s life.

In an interview, IMPD Chief Chris Bailey, said he was “profoundly shocked and disturbed by the allegations involving an IMPD officer” while he noted, “his alleged actions constitute a betrayal of the sacred oath we take to protect and serve our community.”

Richards has been suspended, while a recommendation of termination has also been submitted to the IMPD Civilian Police Merit Board.

The accused police officer who visited SVG last year for a funeral, is accused of sharing pornographic videos of children, child exploitation, and one count of possession of child pornography. Detectives say they have found photos on the accused man’s phone of young girls under the age of 12 posing nude.

Part of the investigation claims that Richards used a messaging app called KIK and the moniker online, “Chasepleez” where he allegedly uploaded, downloaded and shared explicit content, including child pornography. According to WRTV ABC, “during Richards’ interview with detectives, the 12-year-veteran said he no longer has a KIK account. When pressed about the chats, he said, ‘I don’t even know how I ended up there’ and went on to say, ‘so dumb’.

“Richards used a VPN, but the connection dropped, and his computer switched to his personal WiFi in his apartment, which alerted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.”

WRTV ABC also reported that investigators say they are still going through Richards’ phone, tablets, laptops, and other devices, and are still looking into who was on the receiving end of his messages.

“Once we are in, we will have a clearer picture of what’s going on, but also determine who are these images being sent to and if other jurisdictions or police agencies need to become involved,” Prosecutor Mears said as reported by WRTV ABC.

Richards has pled not guilty in court and is on $4000 cash bond. He was made to surrender three passports and firearms to the court. Unconfirmed reports are that one of the travel documents was a Vincentian passport.

On Thursday, several past students of the SVGS who were in the same class as Richards expressed shock over the accusations.

“I hung out with him when he was here last time,” one past student commented to SEARCHLIGHT on condition of anonymity.