Convicted Molester Admits New Charges

A 33-year-old Worley man twice convicted of child molestation has pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful sexual contact with a child.

Richard L. Villegas admitted to U.S. District Court Judge Edward Lodge this week that he fondled two girls, 6 and 8, at their mother’s home in Plummer.

As a repeat child molester, Villegas faces 40 years in prison and a $500,000 fine - twice the typical punishment - when he is sentenced on May 3, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

Villegas said he was drunk when he began playing with the girls while visiting their mother. He told FBI agents, who investigate felony crimes on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation, that he chased the girls around the yard before cornering them in a bedroom. The older girl got away and told her mother Villegas had molested them.