'It was money well spent,' police say of $102K used on surveillance for child rapist

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — The Providence Police Department spent more than $100,000 to keep an eye on convicted child rapist Richard Gardner following his release from prison.

A department spokeswoman on Thursday told NBC 10 News it spent $102,812 to provide a police detail for Gardner, 52, for about four months.

The detectives who were working the detail were being paid overtime, according to Maj. David Lapatin.

The department ended its surveillance in Gardner’s Washington Park neighborhood on Feb. 15 and cited money and manpower as the two driving factors for pulling the detail.

The following night, police said someone threw cinderblocks through Gardner’s window. No one was injured and officers haven’t made any arrests.

“It was a lot of money. It was but I think at this point it was money well spent because no one got hurt,” Lapatin said during a news conference Tuesday. “Things had to change up there from when we first got there and I think they have.”

Lapatin added, “Sometimes you have to spend the money.”

Police have said they have no plans to resume surveillance at the home.