A 77-year-old Spruce Creek South man was jailed Tuesday after his boarder claimed he has been sexually assaulting her for several months.
The victim told a Marion County sheriff’s detective that she is a “chronic” alcoholic and her father had arranged for her in December 2020 to start renting a room for $600 a month at the home, owned by retiree Richard Dwight Tolman. She said she no longer lived with her parents because she had “burned her bridges with them as a result of her alcoholism,” a sheriff’s office report states.
The victim claimed that ever since she moved into the residence, Tolman had provided her with alcohol and continually comes into her room and “has his way with her.” She said she was lying on her bed when he came into her room nude and brought her some vodka and soup, the report says. The victim also said Tolman “always walks around the house nude.”
The victim said Tolman returned to her room later in the day and was again nude. She said she was wearing a gray nightgown and he told her to take it off while asking, “Why are you always wearing that stuff?” She said she told him she liked wearing it and then pulled the nightgown off and dropped it onto the floor.
The victim claimed Tolman had unprotected sex with her and then oral sex. She said she told him she didn’t want him to have sex with her because it was “inappropriate.” She said she told him to leave her room and tried to push him away, but she didn’t have the strength and “just laid there until he was done,” the report says.
The victim told the detective she hadn’t reported the sexual abuse in the past because she didn’t want Tolman to go to jail and “she still cares for him.” But she said she wanted to proceed with the charges and was willing to participate in a sexual assault exam but because of her level of intoxication, the exam wasn’t conducted during the investigation.
The detective then spoke with Tolman, who said the victim’s father had contacted him and asked him to rent her the room. He said he agreed but he didn’t know that she was an alcoholic and he had been trying to wean her off vodka since she moved in.
Tolman said the victim told him she wanted to go to rehab but wanted to drink some vodka first. He said he gave her half of a 200-milliliter bottle of vodka and she slept in her room. He said he gave her more vodka when she woke up and she again said she wanted to go to rehab.
Tolman also told deputies that he provided the victim with lemonade and soup. He said he also poured her two shots of vodka in a plastic cup and told her she wasn’t getting any more until she went to rehab, which caused her to become upset, tip over some dog food and throw things around the house, the report says.
When asked if he had a relationship with the victim, Tolman said they never had “intercourse” and he hadn’t had an erection in five years. When asked to elaborate, he claimed the victim would beg him to stay with her and he would because she suffers from seizures from alcohol withdrawals. He said for that reason he sometimes sleeps in the same bed with her when she asks him to, which had been going on for about five months, according to the report.
When asked if had oral sex with the victim, Tolman said they’ve “touched each other.” He claimed he had touched her “all over” because she wanted him to and she touches him as well. He said they had been together in the past day or so but denied having sexual contact with her after giving her the vodka and soup. He also denied being a nudist and when asked why the victim would make up an allegation about him assaulting her, he claimed it was because she’s a “professional storyteller,” the report says.
After collecting two of the victim’s nightgowns and pieces of bedding for evidence, Tolman was placed under arrest and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with sexual assault. He was released early Tuesday afternoon on $10,000 bond and his next court date hasn’t yet been set, jail records show.
Tolman’s address was redacted from the sheriff’s office report. But records on file with the Marion County Property Appraiser’s Office show that he owns a 1,766-square-foot, three-bedroom home on S.E. 102nd Circle in Spruce Creek South.