JAMES CITY COUNTY, Va. — A man who fled from Williamsburg to Florida on a sailboat to avoid charges of taking illegal upskirt photos has now been linked by DNA to a 1987 sexual assault cold case, police said.
A grand jury indicted Richard Lee Gibson on charges of rape, abduction with intent to defile, two counts of inanimate object penetration, two counts of sodomy, and aggravated sexual battery for a case dating back to Dec. 10, 1987.
James City County police said that on that date, a man abducted and committed several sexual offenses against a victim in a section of the Midlands Apartment Complex that was under construction. Despite an investigation, police were never able to establish a suspect profile, and the case eventually went cold.
In 2019, the assailant's DNA was submitted to the Virginia DNA Data Bank, although no match was made. Periodic searches would be made to both the Virginia and National DNA Data Banks afterward, in case a match would be made at a future date.
Flash forward to October 2022, when Williamsburg police accused Richard Lee Gibson of placing his cell phone between the legs of an unsuspecting woman while it was recording. Two misdemeanor warrants were issued, but Gibson eluded arrest.
In March of 2023, a person spotted Gibson sailing a boat on the Caloosahatchee River in Florida, and, recognizing him from media coverage, called the Lee County Sheriff's Office.
Gibson was taken into custody in Florida and eventually extradited back to Virginia. Investigators said Gibson had intentionally fled Virginia in a sailboat down the Intracoastal Waterway.
While in custody, a DNA sample was taken and months later, triggered a match with the 1987 cold case in the DNA data bank.
After more than 35 years, the suspect profile was complete, and an offender was identified.
Police served Gibson his grand jury indictments while he was still incarcerated at Virginia Regional Peninsula Jail for the Williamsburg upskirt charges. His first court appearance for the 1987 case is set for April 1.
Investigators ask that anyone with information about Gibson or who may have been victimized by him to come forward, as it is possible other cold cases involving him may exist. Police created a special bulletin featuring photos of Gibson from 1996 to 2023 to aid potential victims in identifying him, as his appearance has changed over that time frame.
