Bucyrus man, 65, pleads guilty to two charges related to sexual assault

A Bucyrus man will have to register as a Tier I sex offender after pleading guilty to two charges in Crawford County Common Pleas Court on June 26.

Richard E. Palmer, 65, admitted to sexually assaulting a Galion woman in his room at a motel on Lincoln Highway after he was presented with a phone call the woman had record in which he agrees he forced her into sexual acts against her will while she was temporarily staying with him.

Palmer pleaded guilty to one count of abduction, a third-degree felony, that was amended from the original charge of kidnapping, and one count of gross sexual imposition, a fourth-degree felony. A second charge of kidnapping was dismissed as part of his plea agreement with prosecutors.

Palmer was sentenced to two years in prison on each charge, to be served concurrently for a total of two years in prison, and was ordered to pay court costs.

According to Crawford County Prosecutors Matt Crall, Palmer must register as a Tier I sex offender, which requires him to register his address every year for the next 15 years with the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office or the sheriff’s office in the county in which he resides.

He was given 36 days of credit for time already served in jail. He was represented by Bucyrus attorney Andrew Motter.

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Bucyrus man, 65, pleads guilty to two charges related to sexual assault