Convicted child rapist spotted in Quincy library, cited for violating sex-offender law

A Weymouth man recently released from prison after beingconvicted of kidnapping and raping several boys in the late 1980swill be summonsed to court after he failed to notify a librarian of his sex offender status, police said.

Richard Gardner, 49, was released last week, according to the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board,after serving nearly 30 years for multiple charges of rape and kidnapping in two states.

Quincy police responded to the Thomas Crane Public Library last Saturday after a librarian reported that Gardner, a level three sex offender, was inside the library using a computer.

A registered sex offender is prohibited from going to a library without previously getting written authorization by the library administration, according to Quincy city officials. The same boundaries apply for schools and day care centers.

Gardner was originally sentenced to 190 years by a Rhode Island Supreme Court judge in 1989 after he was convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting several boys.

One child was abducted at knifepoint from his bedroom and another was brought to Norwell, tied to a tree and left there for hours, according to The Patriot Ledger. The next day, Gardner molested that boy anddrove him to NantasketBeachbefore driving him home to Rhode Island. Police arrested Gardner immediately after he dropped off the boy, the Ledger reported.

In the process of serving his time in Rhode Island, Gardner was sentenced in Massachusetts as well for tying a 12-year-old boy to a tree and raping him. Gardner reported during his 1991 sentencing that he was sexually molested at a New Hampshire Boy Scout camp when he was 12, according to the Ledger.

In 1993, when Gardner appealed, the Rhode Island Supreme Court judge shortened hissentence to50 years with 30 years to serve.

Weymouth Police announced Garnder’s release on their Facebook page last week, stirring outrage from the community. After being released, Gardner returned to his family home on Chandler Street in Weymouth.

“I remember when he was sent to jail for these crimes,” one resident commented. “I thought he was never to be seen in Weymouth again … He was scary then, I’m sure he’s just as scary now.”

One Weymouth resident has since started a Change.org petition to get the attention of Gov. Charlie Baker.

Weymouth police have been called to the area of Gardner’s home twice since his release. A neighbor reported to officers Thursday night that Gardner was looking over his fence and officers responded to Gardner’s home after the family said someone smashed their front window, according to the Ledger.