MAGNOLIA, Del.- A Kent County, Del., man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for the sexual assault of two girls.
Fifty-two-year-old Richard Haines, of Magnolia, was sentenced Wednesday to 556 years in prison following his conviction on 77 felonies related to the continuous assault of the girls by someone in a position of trust. He will also be required to register as a Tier III (high-risk) sex offender.
Haines was actually sentenced to the maximum of 1,300 years, with 744 of those years suspended.
Regardless, as a spokesman for the Delaware Department of Justice said of Haines, "Either way he's going to be in prison until the day he dies."
Prosecutors said that in late 2020, the victims’ mother discovered Haines sexually abusing her 8-year-old child and called the police. Throughout their investigation, investigators discovered that over the course of many months, Haines repeatedly sexually abused not only the 8-year-old but also the victim's 14-year-old sibling. The abuse happened on a weekly and sometimes daily basis while their mother was at work. Haines would use the sexual abuse as punishment when the children were in trouble and would also punish them if they did not do what he demanded, according to prosecutors. They said that during the abuse, Haines would make grooming comments throughout.
