Vacation on St. Thomas turns into a nightmare: Suspect kidnaps couple and rapes woman during hours-long ordeal

ST. THOMAS — A man who forced a visiting couple to have sex and pay for his marijuana purchases and then raped the woman now faces assault, kidnapping and rape charges.

According to court documents, a couple visiting from Texas were on the beach in Lindbergh Bay last Wednesday when a man approached them between 8 and 9 p.m. He was reportedly dressed all in black and wearing a ski mask.

With the outline of a gun in his waistband, the man – later identified as Richard Albert – asked the couple why they weren’t having sex. He allegedly forced them to do so, but stopped them because he didn’t like what he saw. According to police, he then took their cellphones and took possession of the device.

The pair were then forced to leave the beach with Albert removing his ski mask before they got into his car and drove off to search for marijuana. They reportedly had to stop at a local bank to get cash for their captor.

After the bank, Albert reportedly led the couple to a place full of abandoned buildings where he obtained the marijuana. They were forced to purchase alcoholic beverages at a nearby gas station.

The couple said the man pulled the gun from his waistband at that point “to show them he was serious, but still insisting he wasn’t trying to force them,” according to police. The trio then made their way back to the beach, where Albert reportedly spent some time with his captors, who told police they tried to make him comfortable in the hope that he would eventually leave.

Instead, Albert began expressing a desire to have sex with the woman, eventually pulling her away and leaving her boyfriend on the beach without a working cellphone. He reportedly took the woman to an area of ​​abandoned vehicles and empty containers and asked her to have sex with him. According to police, Albert continued to insist that he was not forcing the woman to do anything, but maintained the implicit threat of the gun he was carrying. After having sex with the woman, he reportedly took her back to the beach, took her phone number and told her to respond to his text messages or he would “find her,” according to documents filed in court.

The couple described Albert to police, as well as the vehicle he was driving—a dark four-door compact SUV or van with tinted windows. The gun in his possession was black and appeared to be a Glock. During his conversation with his captors, Albert allegedly told them he was a carpenter who made wedding decorations for wealthy clients and began showing them photos of his work on his phone. The couple also told police he showed them pictures of his supposed girlfriend and a photo of a child. They gave police a phone number from which Albert had begun texting the woman, and using the information the couple gave them, officers were able to make an identification.

On Monday, police tracked Albert down in the parking lot of the Crown Bay Marina, where he was described as being behind the wheel of a gray Acura MDX. When questioned about the reported incident, Albert admitted to police that he did indeed meet the couple on the beach that night and spoke to them about sex. He confirmed the sequence of events as described by the couple, but reportedly did not admit that the visitors were acting under duress.

He told police he was interested in a relationship with the Texan, but instead Albert was arrested and charged with first-degree rape, unlawful sexual contact, false imprisonment and kidnapping, kidnapping for ransom, extortion, robbery or rape, and possession of a firearm during a violent crime.

In court on Tuesday, Judge Simone VanHolten-Turnbull issued a temporary release order for Albert, the details of which were not released at press time. According to information in the public court record, his mother has agreed to act as Albert’s guardian while he awaits trial. His next court date is scheduled for June 28.