Sex offender jailed, accused of raping 4-year-old girl

SANDY — A registered sex offender has been arrested for allegedly raping a 4-year-old girl after he lured her into a Deseret Industries bathroom Tuesday.

The victim had been shopping with her family at the Sandy store at 727 E. 9400 South when the girl was given permission to wander over to the toy section around 1:15 p.m. Within a few minutes, the girl's mother noticed she was missing and alerted store employees, Sandy Police Sgt. Troy Arnold said.

The mother looked into the women's restroom and then checked the men's restroom and found it barred. Police say it took her a minute to push inside and she found her daughter with the suspect, 41-year-old Richard Chad Randall.

Police say Randall ran out of the store and made it across 9400 South into a neighboring strip mall before Deseret Industries customers tackled him to the ground.

"We don't advocate people chasing after suspects but a lot of people just want to do what's right," Arnold said. "They must have heard the mom screaming and followed him."

"We're grateful he's behind bars and not out victimizing others," he said.

Randall was booked into Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of aggravated kidnapping, rape of a child and aggravated sexual abuse of a child. The 41-year-old man was convicted in 1999 of attempted sex abuse of a child that was reduced from a second-degree felony to a class A misdemeanor.

The 4-year-old girl was taken to a nearby hospital then was released and able to go home with her parents, Arnold said.

"Obviously the parents are very upset," he said. "The victim is doing OK. She was able to meet with our detectives."

— Lana Groves