The millionaire heir to the fortune of the American chemical company DuPont has escaped prison after raping his three-year old daughter because a judge considered he wouldn't "fare well" in prison.
Robert H Richards IV pleaded guilty in 2008 to fourth degree rape, which usually carries a 15-year sentence in the US, but a Superior Court judge suspended his eight year sentence because she considered he would not "fare well" in prison, The News Journal reported.
Judge Jan Jurden ruled Richards needed treatment and noted that child molesters are often targeted by other inmates in prison. Richards won't serve jail time unless he violates his probation.
The rape case made headlines earlier this month after Richards' ex-wife filed a lawsuit seeking compensatory and punitive damages for assault, negligence, and inflicting emotional distress on his two children, after claiming he also abused their 19-month-old son around the same time.
In a news conference, her lawyer, Thomas Crumplar, said: "Making matters worse this self-admitted rapist and child abuser has not paid a single penny to these children for his crimes. There is no provision whatsoever for them for their future after they turn 18."