Buffalo man accused of assaulting 18-month-old child

BUFFALO, Minn. (FOX 9) - A Buffalo man was charged Wednesday with sexually assaulting an 18-month-old girl at her parent’s home and videotaping the assault.

According to the criminal charges, Michael Edmund Richmond, 33, assaulted the child in the early morning hours of March 17, 2019, while he was staying overnight at the home.

He allegedly recorded the assaults on his phone and later had the phone wiped clean after he transferred the images to a hard drive.

In a search of Richmond’s home, police found the hard drive with folders called ‘Heaven’ and ‘Hell.’

A forensic analysis uncovered files deleted from the ‘Hell’ folder that included five videos and screenshots showing a man sexually assaulting the child.

The man assaulting the child is not visible in the recordings.

Police identified Richmond as the man in the videos from his hands and distinct moles on his forearms.

The hard drive contained 100 other videos and thousands of images of child pornography, according to the charges.

Richmond tried to delete the files on his hard drive in July 2019 when he learned he was accused of molesting another child in Medina, the charges said.

That investigation by Medina Police led to the search of Richmond’s home, recovery of the hard drive, and discovery of the victim in Buffalo.

In the Buffalo case, Richmond is charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct and five counts of using minors in a sexual performance or pornographic work.

In a court appearance Thursday morning, Richmond’s bail was set at $2 million with no conditions and $1 million with conditions.

Charges are currently pending in Hennepin County for the Medina case.

Federal prosecutors are also considering potential charges related to the 100 other videos and thousands of images found on Richmond's hard drive.