While Nancy Nichols was working on her post, I, too, was digging on the Richard Butterly case. The owner of Poor Richard’s Café didn’t let a child pornography arrest stop him from running a restaurant. He dutifully reported to work for nearly a week afterward, even helping out with the busy Mother’s Day crowd. All of that changed Monday when the Collin County Sheriff’s Office announced that he was one of 15 men arrested in a sting operation for various crimes against children.
“Richard said he was told that this was not going to be made public,” restaurant general manger James Wells said. “His attorney has now suggested that he keep a low profile and stay away for a while.”
Wells found out about the arrest the same way most of his wait staff did — when media outlets and concerned patrons began bombarding the restaurant with calls. While shocked by the allegations, and unsure of the exact case details, Wells said he still supports his friend of 30 years, whom he considers one of the most upstanding people he knows. “I spoke to him yesterday, and he said this will all a big mistake, but his attorneys will get it all straightened out.”
According to Plano Police Department spokesperson Officer David Tilley, the arrest came after a months-long investigation initiated by the Collin County District Attorney’s Office with the help of Plano detective Jeff Rich and the Collin County Sheriff’s department.
Rich, a member of the FBI’s Dallas Child Exploitation Taskforce, was nationally recognized in 2010 with the U.S. Attorney General’s William French Smith Award for outstanding contributions to cooperative law enforcement. He’s considered an expert in combatting crimes against children, and regularly helps train officers in other departments across the country. He also helped developed software that allows law enforcement to track online pedophiles.
“It’s a passion for him to put these child predators away,” Tilley said. “He’s a dad. This is something that means a lot to him.”
The sting operation that netted Butterly relied on officers posing as kids online, as well as tips from internet service providers regarding illicit files. The end result was 15 people arrested so far on child exploitation charges ranging from possession of child pornography to online solicitation of a minor. Tilley said that’s just a normal day’s work for Rich.
“So many arrests have been made behind the sense that you never even hear about,” Tilley said. “He doesn’t toot his own horn. He just does his own job and doesn’t ask for any recognition.”
