WARNING: This story contains disturbing details involving the sexual abuse of children. A jury has found Richard Neil, the man accused of sexually assaulting three children in southwestern Ontario more than 30 years ago, guilty on all charges. Justice Rosemarie Juganovic completed her charge to the jury on Thursday. The next morning, they returned with a verdict. Neil, now 67, pleaded not guilty to 17 charges, including multiple counts of sexual assault, kidnapping and uttering threats. Court heard that, while he does not deny the attacks happened as the victims described, he was not the perpetrator. The first attack happened in1992 at Idlewood Park in Kitchener, Ont. An 8-year-old boy told police he was playing with his friends when a man he did not know lured him into the woods, offering to show the boy some bicycles, and tied him to a tree. “I was scared,” the 8-year-old told police in a 1992 video. The boy’s sister took the stand at Neil’s trial. She described seeing her brother walk out of the woods with a piece of rope still tied around his leg and “totally distraught, crying.” Years later, investigators used DNA to tie the Kitchener assault two other unsolved cases: the 1994 sexual assault of a 10-year-old boy in Norton Place Park in Brampton, Ont. and the 1995 attack on a 15-year-old girl in Wildwood Park in Oakville, Ont. The third one was also the longest, an ordeal lasting five hours. Police investigation The three attacks were similar in nature: they all took place in parks, the attacker was a stranger to the children, the victims were all tied to trees with yellow rope, threatened and sexually assaulted, including being forced to drink urine. “What these three victims were put through is not only physically and psychologically – but given their ages – it’s extremely traumatic,” said Staff Sgt. Steve Hibbard, with the Waterloo Regional Police Service, at a 1995 press conference. Hundreds of potential suspects were interviewed as part of the police investigation, which was dubbed “Project Woodland.” They even went as far as requesting pictures from a Russian satellite in their quest to find the “Woodland Rapist.” Authorities reopened the case in 2009 and Neil was arrested in March 2024. Neil’s trial At trial, the Crown argued the evidence implicating Neil was “so overwhelming that we need a new word for overwhelming.” Evidence from all three crime scenes, including semen on one of the victim’s underwear, was matched to Neil’s DNA profile. Neil was questioned about that when he testified in his own defense. “It’s not mine,” he insisted. “That’s a very unlucky coincidence for you,” said Crown Attorney Monica MacKenzie. “It’s not my DNA,” Neil responded. “It’s not me.” Fingerprints collected from the park in Oakville were also matched to the accused. The Crown noted Neil’s “highly distinctive urine-drinking fetish identifies him.” Neil downplayed his admitted interest in urine drinking during cross-examination, saying it is “actually quite common.” He told court it was something he started doing around 2012, and only with consenting adults. MacKenzie said that, based on the fingerprint evidence alone, “there’s no explanation other than you were the perpetrator.” “This is what I’m hearing, but I’m completely disagreeing with it,” Neil testified. He repeatedly denied being the perpetrator of the crimes. Neil argued the witness’ description of the attacker did not match his own appearance in the 1990s, however he agreed other details were consistent, including a scar on the left side of his abdomen. His lawyer, Leo Adler, asked directly, “Did you attack any of these children?” “No, I did not,” Neil answered. More to come. If you, or someone you know, is struggling following a sexual assault or trauma, please reach out for crisis support:
