Judge places Farmington man on five years probation

FARMINGTON — A Farmington man was placed on five years of supervised

probation after he admitted to luring a Ste. Genevieve County girl to his

car and attempting to expose himself to her.

In Circuit Court Judge Kenneth W. Pratte’s court chambers Richard W. Rickus, 35, pleaded guilty to attempted sexual misconduct involving a child.

Under a plea agreement worked out between his attorney, Daris Almond, and Ste. Genevieve Prosecuting Attorney Timothy Inman, Rickus was placed on five years of probation.

During the hearing, Rickus admitted he lured the 12-year-old girl to his car by asking if she wanted to babysit his children. He then offered her $10 to watch him expose himself. He also admitted that he was previously convicted of indecent exposure in Madison County in 1993.

As part of the conditions of the probation, Rickus was ordered not to have any contact with the child or her family, and not to have contact with or residency with children younger than 17 years old, except his own children. He was ordered to take part in an outpatient sex offender treatment program and to serve 120 days of shock incarceration in the county jail at the discretion of his probation officer.

If Rickus violates his probation, he could be sentenced up to three years in prison.