A Massachusetts deputy sheriff has been taken into custody following allegations that he raped and trafficked a teenage boy across several communities. Richard Kielczweski, 41, a deputy with the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department, was arrested on Friday night on charges of multiple sexual assaults, production of child pornography, and trafficking of a 15-year-old boy.
According to the Halifax Police Department, the accusations against Kielczweski span multiple towns in the state, including Hanson, Halifax, and Middleborough. Detective Cushman of the Halifax Police Department conducted a thorough investigation into incidents related to Halifax connected to this case, leading to an arrest warrant for Kielczweski. The arrest was carried out by officers from Hanson and Middleborough Police.
In Hanson, the former deputy faces three counts of paying for sexual conduct with a child under 18, two counts of aggravated rape of a child with a 10-year age difference, one count of forcible rape of a child, posing or exhibiting a child in a sexual act, and trafficking a person under 18 for sexual servitude. In Middleborough, he is charged with witness intimidation and enticing a child under 16. In Halifax, he is accused of two counts of rape of a child, paying for sexual conduct with a child, and trafficking.
Kielczweski had been employed by the sheriff's department since February, having been hired as a correctional officer in 2015. The Suffolk County Sheriff's Department issued a statement expressing that the charges against Officer Kielczweski are extremely serious and deeply disturbing, and that they have taken swift and decisive action by indefinitely suspending him.
Prior to his arrest, Kielczweski had received the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal from the US Marine Corps Toys for Tots program, recognizing his work during the 2024 holiday season in the greater Boston area. The Halifax Police Department commended the efforts of all agencies involved in apprehending the suspect and protecting vulnerable victims. The investigation remains ongoing.
The former officer is currently being held on a $250,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday in Plymouth District Court.
