Convicted child rapist recently released from prison arrested in RI

The convicted child rapist recently released after serving nearly 30 years in prison has been arrested.

Richard Gardner served nearly 30 years in Massachusetts and Rhode Island prisons for kidnapping and raping children in the 1980s.

After his release, Gardner moved to Rhode Island where he was on probation and had to register as a sex offender.

On Friday afternoon, 52-year-old Gardner was arrested on an affidavit and arrest warrant obtained by Cranston Police. Police say Gardner allegedly filed false information on a marriage certificate at Cranston City Hall. Additional information was not immediately available.

The Plymouth County District Attorney's Office told Boston 25 News two years ago that they dropped the ball in the case when they didn't ask a judge to civilly commit Gardner as a sexually dangerous person.

Gardner went back to jail days after his release on a Rhode Island probation violation, and the Plymouth County district attorney then tried to ask for a civil commitment.

The state's highest court then ruled they had no jurisdiction the second time around.

"When the Commonwealth applied for a petition in this case, the defendant was serving a Rhode Island sentence in a Massachusetts prison," the judge said.

Gardner is being arraigned Friday.

Cox Media Group