Alleged Belmont Child Rapist Captured in Colombia Friday, 2 Decades After He Fled

Federal agents and Colombian police arrested 71-year-old Richard Haugh Friday in Colombia, according to Massachusetts State Police.

Haugh, one of State Police’s “Most Wanted” fugitives, fled two decades ago after being charged with child rape and other offenses in Belmont in 1992.

Haugh was located in Colombia by the State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section, Belmont Police and the U.S. State Department.

He was arrested after Colombian police stopped a taxi with him in it. The taxi was en route from Cali to Cartagena in Colombia. Authorities believe Haugh was trying to flee again, as he had packed suitcases with him.

The Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office, which assisted in the investigation, will prosecute Haugh and coordinate his extradition with federal officials, according to State Police.

He will ultimately be returned to Massachusetts to answer the following charges: rape of a child, indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, assault with intent to rape a child and providing obscene material to a minor. Upon his return, he also faces federal fraud charges brought by the U.S. Postal Service.

Haugh was charged by Belmont Police in 1992 of the above charges but fled after receiving bail at his arraignment.

In early 2013, the State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section began working on the case with Belmont Police and the Middlesex District Attorney's Office. Their investigation revealed that Haugh was residing in Colombia.

State Police then obtained assistance from the State Department. In May 2013, the State Department attempted to arrest Haugh in Colombia, but he fled the area of the country where he was living before he could be captured. 

Last month, the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service and Colombian immigration officials developed new information on Haugh's whereabouts. They were preparing an operations plan to arrest him when they learned that he was going to try to flee the country on Friday.

Diplomatic Security Service agents and Colombian police were waiting for him Friday and stopped the taxi he planned to take from Cali to Cartagena, according to State Police.

Haugh was arraigned as a fugitive in Colombia and could be brought to Miami, Fla., as soon as Sunday, State Police said. He is expected to be arraigned first on the federal postal fraud charges and then subsequently brought to Massachusetts for the state charges.