The owner of a Richmond equestrian center has been suspended from a national equestrian organization where he is a judge after he was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a child employee.
Raymond Krussell, 52, of Richmond, was charged earlier this month with aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child, criminal sexual assault of a child, manufacturing harmful material and grooming.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation after a female victim, who is now 18, reported that Krussell had sexually abused her while she worked at his business, prosecutors said.
Krussell owns Krussell Stables, located at 7105 East Tryon Grove Road in unincorporated Richmond, and resides there.
Prosecutors said the victim reported the abuse began when she was 15 years old.
Krussell first met the victim at Krussell Stables when she was a young child taking riding lessons.
Krussell employed the child to work for him in exchange for stable expenses as she got older, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Krussell began to groom the child by sending her sexually explicit images of himself via text messages.
Krussell then began to sexually assault the child at least once per week for approximately a year when she was 16 to 17 years old, prosecutors said.
A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court alleges Krussel engaged in a sexual relationship with the victim beginning in January 2024 through February 2025, starting when the victim was 16 years of age and ending when she was 17 years old.
The complaint said Krussell sent a nude webcam photo of himself to the victim in February 2025 and that he was sending text messages that were sexual in nature when the victim was between the ages of 16 and 17 years old.
The text messages were used to continue a sexual relationship between Krussell and the victim while he served as her employer, the complaint said.
According to its website, Krussell Stables was established in 2002 and operates as a “premiere equestrian training center in Northern Illinois that specializes in the American Saddlebred Horse and Saddleseat riding lessons.”
The website said the stable offers lessons and a summer camp for juvenile riders ages 4 and up.
“Lessons are taught by experienced professional instructors who place a strong emphasis on safety, fun and helping riders achieve their horseback riding goals,” the website reads.
Krussell Stables’ website has since been taken down and the business is marked as “temporarily closed.”
McHenry County Judge Cynthia Lamb granted a petition to detain Krussell in the McHenry County Jail while he awaits trial following a court hearing earlier this month when he was arrested.
Krussell is part of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), which is a national governing body for equestrian sports in the United States that was established in 1917 and has 200,000 members.
A spokesperson for USEF told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that Krussell was placed on interim suspension as of February 7 for the alleged misconduct.
He was licensed as a professional and a judge with the organization.
McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese said that any member of the public who has information regarding the crime or similar crimes involving Krussell is asked to file a report with their local law enforcement agency.
Krussell is set to appear in court again on Friday for a preliminary hearing.