Teens: McKinney house was party time
Court documents tell tale of underage sex in exchange for drugs
07:01 AM CDT on Thursday, May 27, 2004
McKINNEY – Police say Richard Dean Campbell's home was known as the party house. There, many McKinney teenagers knew they could trade sexual favors for a snort of cocaine or a margarita.
And he promised to reward them with money and drugs if they brought their friends, according to court records.
Several teenagers told police that Mr. Campbell, 41, had sex with a number of the girls and coerced them into performing sexual acts on each other while he took pictures, according to police and court documents.
Most of the girls interviewed said they met the computer specialist through his teenage son, a former McKinney high school student. The son now lives in another state.
The parties began about 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays at the house on Sidney Lane and lasted until the early hours of the morning from at least September 2002 to early 2003, according to the girls' statements.
Mr. Campbell faces charges including sexually assaulting a child, possession of child pornography and furnishing alcohol to minors. On Wednesday, he turned himself in on a charge of child pornography.
Mr. Campbell could not be reached for comment at his home Wednesday before his latest arrest.
Police are sifting through his computer, photographs and videos for evidence as part of their nine-month investigation. They said more arrests could follow.
A 17-year-old McKinney girl said in an interview Wednesday that she frequented the house in September 2002. She said she first went to the house with a girl Mr. Campbell is accused of sexually assaulting. She said that she went to the house because drugs and alcohol were available but that she did not participate in any of the sex. She called Mr. Campbell "disgusting" and said he hit on all the teenage girls and patted their rear ends.
"It was a drug house," said the 17-year-old, who also gave a statement to police as part of their investigation. "I don't remember much."
The girl said she never saw pornography. But other girls told her about the pictures and sex with Mr. Campbell, she said.
She and other girls described an array of drugs offered at the home: beer, marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, Jell-O shots with vodka, acid, Vicodin and Hydrocodone, according to the court documents.
Several of the girls said in the court records that they saw pornographic videos and photos – some with girls they knew – while at the two-story house. They also described five computers throughout the home, where pictures of the girls were downloaded. They said Mr. Campbell's son had pictures of the girls on his bedroom wall, the documents say.
McKinney police arrested Mr. Campbell in April on a charge of sexually assaulting a child and again last week on seven charges of furnishing alcohol to minors. He posted bond on both charges but was back in jail Wednesday.
If convicted of sexual assault of a child, Mr. Campbell faces up to 20 years in prison. A possession of child pornography charges carries a possible 10-year sentence.
Neighbors said they would have never guessed that girls were allegedly prostituting themselves for drugs and alcohol.
"I had no idea. It was a single dad and a teen," said next-door neighbor Michelle Shah. "There was loud music and lots of teenagers coming and going. But there's a teenage boy living there. I didn't think anything of it."
McKinney police first learned of the parties in September 2003 when a girl, now 17, was arrested on suspicion of stealing her grandparents' vehicle. A therapist at the Collin County Detention Center called police after the girl told her about sex and drugs at the house.
The documents say the girl said she first went to the home with Mr. Campbell's son when she was 15.
"You got a good one there. How old is she?" the girl quoted Mr. Campbell as saying to his son.
During several trips to the home, the girl said, she was asked to take off her clothes and have sex with Mr. Campbell and other girls. She told officials she had sex twice with Mr. Campbell.
The records also mention other men at the home, engaging in sexual activity and photographing the girls. However, no other arrests have yet been made in the case.
Police interviewed 15 teenagers from both McKinney high schools who said they saw illegal activity at the house. Court documents report that one of the teenagers was a boy who went with his girlfriend to the house, where they had sex. The other 14 were girls, but not all of them engaged in sexual activity, the documents state.
One of the girls, who is now 17, told police this month that she went to the house as a sophomore after meeting Mr. Campbell's son. She said Mr. Campbell took pictures of her sitting in a bathtub wearing sweatpants and a bra, according to the affidavit. He asked her to take her pants off. The girl told police that Mr. Campbell's son showed her pictures saved on his computers of other girls.
Among the items police confiscated from Mr. Campbell's home: a video camera, a bag of marijuana, three videotapes, nearly $25,000 in cash, disks, two 8-mm tapes and computers.
Mr. Campbell may also have another son and young daughter, court records indicate. Court records show he is divorced. His ex-wife, who lives in Plano, could not be reached Wednesday.
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