Cops: 2015 sex battery case solved

After over 3 years, DNA led investigators to man who is now accused in the case

A frightening ordeal that began before dawn in Lake Worth ended well after daylight when a sex attacker pushed his naked victim out of a car and she ran toward some houses for help.

After more than three years, DNA led investigators to the man who is now accused in the case and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office is crediting a state law that requires the testing of backlogged sexual assault kits.

It was about 5:30 a.m. on Aug. 8, 2015 when Richard Christophe, of Boynton Beach, coaxed the woman into his car as she was walking near U.S. 1 and Eighth Avenue South, according to a sheriff’s office arrest report.

“As soon as she entered the vehicle, the male grabbed her by the throat and told her not to scream or he would kill her,” the arrest report said.

The woman, 51 at the time, was forced to commit sex acts in the car and eventually brought to a house where the attacks continued, the report said.

At one point, she was able to get out of that house as Christophe was falling asleep — only to seek help from a neighbor who turned out to be a woman he referred to as “Aunty.” According to investigators Christophe eventually came outside and told her the victim “stole my money” before dragging her back into his car.

Again, Christophe drove the woman around — beating and sexually battering her before tossing her from the vehicle sometime during the morning hours, the arrest report said.

The case lingered for nearly two years until July of 2017 when a Florida DNA database showed Christophe as a possible suspect. Detectives were able to get a search warrant to obtain a DNA swab from Christophe and a subsequent test showed him as a match, the report said.

Additionally, the alleged victim was able to identify Christophe from a photo lineup, according to investigators.

He was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday on charges of sexual assault and kidnapping-false imprisonment, records show. Christophe, 29, is being held without bond.

Florida Senate Bill 636 was signed into law in 2016 and requires that sexual assault kits be tested within 120 days of their submission to state crime lab.