BELMONT, MASS. (WHDH) - A 59-year-old Belmont man has been ordered held without bail after investigators found evidence he sexually assaulted a child known to him, officials said.
Rickland Powell was arrested after allegedly sexually assaulting and photographing the child inside his home in Belmont and has been charged with two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, distributing obscene matter to a minor, four counts of aggravated rape of a child, four counts of rape of a child with force, and posing a child in the nude, according to a joint statement issued by Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Belmont Chief of Police James MacIsaac.
The allegations were first reported to Belmont police on Nov. 28, who were then granted a search warrant for Powell’s home, where they allegedly located media files, photos and other items. On Nov. 30, police learned Powell was in Andover, and when police approached him, he fled in a vehicle at a high rate of speed.
Powell was later found in the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Stoneham. He was placed under arrest and subsequently transported to an area hospital.
He was ordered held without bail during his arraignment in Cambridge District Court pending a Dec. 8 dangerousness hearing.
This is a developing news; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)