Richard Boydston was arrested in April for allegedly having sexually explicit conversations with a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl.
Richard Boydston of Vernon TownshipNEWTON -- A Sussex County man who was recently arrested for allegedly sending sexually explicit text messages to a person he thought was a 14-year-old girl was charged last week with sexually assaulting three girls, authorities said.
Richard Boydston, of Vernon, was arrested and charged on May 1 with three counts of aggravated sexual assault and three counts of second-degree sexual assault, Sussex County Prosecutor Francis A. Koch said in a news release.
Authorities say Boydston allegedly sexually assaulted three girls under the age of 13 for a period of years.
A court date of May 9 was set for a hearing on Boydston's detention and possible bail revocation on the sex assault charges.
Boydston was arrested on April 19 after an undercover investigation revealed he was sending sexually explicit messages to a person he believed was a teen girl but was actually an undercover detective, the prosecutor's office has said.
Boydston allegedly had sexually explicit conversations on the website, Chatstep.com, and texted the detective who was posing as a teen girl.
He was charged in that case with attempted sexual assault, luring, endangering the welfare of a child and attempted criminal sexual contact.
He's scheduled to appear in court on May 22 on the April 19 charges.
The investigation remains ongoing, authorities said.
Anyone with information regarding Boydston can contact the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office at 973-383-1570.
Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.