Richard Matthews is a host parent of exchange students, preferably girls, and a serial rapist and pornographer of the children in his house.
History[]
Richard would take foreign national girls into his home just to rape and molest them. He'd often do it on camera and force his wife, Mary, to spectate in a voyeuristic fashion as part of Richard's fantasies. Richard's latest victims were Emilia and Lara Barassi, two Italian born sisters who were taken in from their home with their mother Allesandra.
Richard acquired custody of the sisters by sexually abusing them when first meeting them, then twisting them into believing their father raped them in the fashion Richard did. They testified against their father and got him imprisoned in Italy, leading Richard to jump in and emigrate the sister into his "safer" house. The rapes and molestations only continued from there, with Mary never intervening and the girls never telling or believing for sure it was a crime.
When Emilia was raped by cabbie Oscar Groves on the way back from a house party hosted by her friend, Tommy Burke, the squad investigates. Groves is soon tracked and arrested after a confession, but the detectives suspect Richard of worse. After further investigation, Richard's sex offenses are revealed, as well as Mary's conspiracy, and the couple are arrested. Richard confesses in a denial of being a criminal, doting on the girls in his house and disparaging his wife. This causes Richard to jump over his balcony and commit suicide. This pushes Lara over the edge, especially with her father being imprisoned for nothing, to the point she nearly commits suicide by a pill overdose, but she is successfully resuscitated.
Mary is released without charges in exchange for her testimony. (SVU: "Exchange")
Known Victims[]
- Numerous unnamed girls (repeatedly raped, molested, and forced into child porn)
- Emilia Barassi (repeatedly raped, molested, and forced into child porn)
- Lara Barassi (repeatedly raped, molested, and forced into child porn; later drove to attempted suicide with pills)