Richard Perkins

Prosecutors are alleging that a Cody man sexually abused a minor in Park County last month and then left the state.

Richard M. Perkins was arrested in Oregon two weeks ago and authorities are now seeking to have him brought back to Cody. Court records show the Park County Attorney’s Office has charged Perkins, 59, with a felony count of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor.

Of the four types of sexual abuse of a minor, first-degree offenses are considered the most serious, with a conviction punishable by at least 25 years worth of prison time.

Prosecutors have released no details about the allegations against Perkins, who’s best known for giving away thousands of bicycles to children across the Big Horn Basin. A fugitive complaint filed against Perkins in Coos County, Oregon, Circuit Court says only that the crime is alleged to have occurred on a specific date in mid-May in Park County.

Circuit court personnel in Park County said they could not confirm the existence of a pending case against Perkins, which indicates the file has been made confidential and entirely unavailable to the public.

State law and court rules protect the identities of defendants charged with sexual crimes and alleged victims until the case clears a preliminary hearing, but additional steps are taken when the victim is a minor; state law allows judges to restrict the disclosure of any information that’s “reasonably likely” to identify a minor victim.

It’s unclear when Park County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed the charge against Perkins. However, an online database maintained by the Park County Sheriff’s Office said a warrant had been issued by June 8.

Police in Bandon, Oregon — where Perkins is from, according to his Facebook profile — arrested him on June 9. Officers there had received a tip from a Cody police that Perkins might be staying with a family member,  said Bandon Police Chief Cory Dhillon. Officers eventually learned that Perkins had been living in a wooded area behind the family member's home, Dhillon said.

The Coos County District Attorney’s Office subsequently filed a fugitive complaint against Perkins to clear the way for him to be returned to Wyoming to face the sexual abuse charge. Before that can happen, though, prosecutors may have to formally prove that Perkins is the person named in the Park County case and that the State of Wyoming has the legal authority to extradite him.

“You do have the right, Mr. Perk … [or] sir, not to identify yourself today. That’s the right to remain silent,” Coos County Circuit Court Judge Martin Stone advised Perkins at a June 12 hearing. “I’m not going to ask you who you are. I’m not going to ask you what your birthday is.”

Instead, Stone scheduled a formal identification hearing for July 10.

“You have the right to waive extradition to speed up this process and have you get back to Wyoming a bit quicker,” Stone said. “But that’s something I want you to talk to your lawyer about; I’m not here to give you legal advice.”

The judge appointed an attorney for Perkins after he reported having no money in the bank and no income.

Perkins gained recognition in Park County for collecting and fixing up unwanted, unneeded and donated bicycles, then distributing them to area children for free. He started the effort in March 2017 and has since given away thousands of bikes. He put the project on hold last year as his wife faced a fatal battle with cancer, but restarted the effort this past spring in her honor. Perkins hosted giveaways in Powell and Cody in May, but on June 10 — the day after his arrest — a family member posted that the project had “closed down permanently.”

At his initial June 12 court appearance, Perkins' security, or bond, was set at $50,000.

“If you post 10% of that, which would be $5,000, you’d be out,” the judge told Perkins, but he noted the defendant would still need to be back in court for his identification hearing next month.

As of Monday, Perkins remained in custody at the Coos County Jail in Coquille, Oregon.

(Editor's note: This version of the story has been updated to correct the date of Perkins' arrest and add more information about the circumstances surrounding that arrest.)