Crime & Safety

Child Molestation Charges Dropped after Man Commits Suicide

After posting $1 million in bail money, Richard Kenneth Watterworth killed himself before court proceedings could begin.

The case against a Millbrae man accused of molesting his twin step-daughters from 2010 until November of 2011 was dropped in South San Francisco Felony Court on Monday, the San Mateo District Attorney's office announced.

In late November of last year, Richard Kenneth Watterworth was arrested on charges including lewd act with a child under 14, continuous sexual abuse of a child, criminal threats and exhibiting a firearm.

According to the DA's Office, Watterworth met his wife online in 2009 and moved her and her two children to the U.S. from the Philippines. They were married in 2010, at which point the molestation of the 12-year-old twins began. 

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The victims told their mother of the misconduct when she found a condom in their room, DA's Office notes show.

Wattersworth was out of jail on a $1 million bail bond on Dec. 18 and a preliminary hearing was set for Feb. 8. But according to the DA's Office, because he "killed himself some weeks ago," the case was dismissed in its entirety on Monday.

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