Man in jail for allegedly abusing 3 of his adopted children

Gene Kennedy reporting

Two sisters are speaking out about their brother who is in jail accused of molesting three his adopted children. The Kearns man was arrested on suspicion of more than 40 counts of sexual abuse.

The sisters claim their brother, 37-year-old Richard Hill, abused them 20 years ago when he was a teenager. The sisters say he never faced charges, and he only received therapy. Now, he's in jail for allegedly abusing three of his six adopted children.

The suspect's sisters are agonizing over this, and they want Hill to be put away for a long time. Helene Espinosa, the suspect's sister, says, "I wished I could have saved them because I wasn't saved."

Her sister, Lorrie Rands, agrees. She says, "I wish there was more we could have done."

The sisters did not want their brother and his wife adopting children. Espinosa said, "We've known for most of our lives that our brother is a bad person."

The sisters claimed Hill abused them, so they feared he would do the same to these victims. The sisters wrote letters protesting the adoption, but at hearings in court, the Hill family never voiced concerns.

Hill did not have any record of abuse with the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS), and he passed background checks, so the adoptions went through. "All of my brothers and sisters were just waiting. It wasn't a matter of ‘if', it was ‘when,'" said Espinosa.

According to a probable-cause statement, on Saturday Hill confessed to Salt Lake County detectives to sexually abusing three of his children for three years. The sheriff's office says an acquaintance advised him to turn himself in, so Hill called DCFS.

"I believe he would be willing to come forward and say 'I did it,' you know, hoping he'll just get a slap on the hand again. I think he's very manipulative, and I think that he doesn't think what he's doing isn't as bad as it really is," said Espinosa.

Hill could face 24 counts of sodomy, 13 counts of aggravated sex abuse, and four counts of rape. His sisters hope if there are other victims, they'll come forward. Rands said, "It's not about us any more, and it needs to stop."

Eyewitness News spoke with Hill's wife on the phone. She said she was not aware any abuse was going on. DCFS has not taken the children from the home.