Holly Springs man accused of molesting girls over 8-year period
A Holly Springs man is accused of sexually abusing two girls at various times over the past eight years.
Richard Andrew Kelton, 37, was arrested Saturday on three felony counts of indecent liberties with a child.
According to arrest warrants, two of the charges stem from incidents alleged to have occurred in April 2012, while the third involved activities alleged to have occurred between May 2019 and last Friday.
Investigators said they are trying to determine if there are other victims.
"The Holly Springs Police Department and the Morrisville Police Department are continuing to interview people who may have come in contact with him to see if there's anything they noticed or if there's any other potential victims going forward," Wake County Assistant District Attorney Melanie Shekita said Monday. "When you have sexual offenders who prey on children, it takes them a period of time to gain the child's and sometime the family members' trust, so they can span many years."
According to online records, Kelton is a local realtor and the father of three children. WRAL News also learned he worked for the YMCA in 2012 and volunteered with Hope Community Church in Morrisville – coming in contact with children in both roles.
"It's concerning when you have someone accused – and that's all it is right now – of child molestation who works in agencies or around the opportunity to have access to other children," Shekita said.
The current charges against Kelton aren't connected to the YMCA or the church, she said.
"Because this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot issue any further comment. As always, we cooperate with local authorities," YMCA of the Triangle spokeswoman Jennifer Nelson said in a statement. "Throughout our history, our YMCA has had strong commitment to children and their health and safety."
"None of the actions of which Mr. Kelton has been accused happened at any of our campuses or during a Hope event. Hope has already taken actions to restrict Kelton from volunteering with the church and access to students’ and children’s ministries," Hope Community Church officials said in a statement. "As part of Hope’s commitment to safety and security, we have rules preventing volunteers or staff from being in a room by themselves with children, as well as mechanisms to prevent such interactions, which includes video cameras that monitor real-time activity in the area where Kelton served. Kelton successfully completed our screening process before he was allowed to volunteer."
Kelton was released after posting $150,000 bond but was ordered not to have any contact with children unless a parent or guardian was present.
He didn't respond to phone calls or emails seeking comment, and his attorney, Melissa Hill, declined to comment on the case.
