A Frederick, Maryland, man has admitted in Accomack Circuit Court to a string of violent and sexual offenses tied to a late-night attack on a Melfa woman and an unrelated robbery inside the county jail. Under a plea agreement outlined in court Wednesday, prosecutors and the defense are proposing 12 years of active prison time, five years of supervised probation, and additional suspended terms if the judge signs off. Judge Lynwood Lewis said he will wait for a long-form presentence report and a psychosexual evaluation before deciding whether to accept the deal.
How prosecutors say the attack unfolded
Prosecutors say the case centers on an incident from May 13, 2025, when 26-year-old Riker David Bucci went to his former girlfriend’s Melfa home at about 1 a.m., put a knife to her throat and forced her into his car. According to what the woman later told deputies, Bucci stopped at a closed business, held her against his vehicle and sexually assaulted her while threatening to kill her, her family and her then-boyfriend. Investigators later reported finding two obscene animal videos on Bucci’s phone, a detail first noted by Shore Daily News.
Indictment history
Late last year, a grand jury indicted Bucci on a slate of felony sex charges that included abduction with intent to defile, rape by force, and two counts of possessing images that depicted the sexual assault of an animal. Court materials quoted in a local roundup describe the victim as saying she was choked with a cord and had a pillow pressed over her face during the encounter. The grand-jury list and related notes were published by the Eastern Shore Post.
Plea package and jail robbery
In Accomack Circuit Court on Wednesday, Bucci pleaded guilty to a felony count of illegally transporting the victim and to two felony counts of possessing bestiality videos. He also entered guilty pleas to misdemeanor sexual battery, assault and battery, and roughly ten violations of a protective order.
The plea agreement presented by the commonwealth calls for 12 active years in the state penitentiary, followed by five years of supervised probation and an overall 42-year “good behavior” term. Under the proposal, ten years would be tied to the abduction count, and another ten years, with all but two years suspended, would be attached to a separate robbery count.
Prosecutors said Bucci robbed a fellow inmate at the Accomack County Jail earlier this year by wrestling a laundry bag away from the man and striking him in the head, an incident they said was captured on surveillance video. Another hearing is set for November while the court waits for the presentence report and psychosexual evaluation, according to Shore Daily News.
What the charges carry
Under Virginia law, abduction committed “with intent to defile” can be charged as an elevated felony that carries potential decades-long prison exposure, while sexual battery is treated as a Class 1 misdemeanor and can bring up to 12 months behind bars. The relevant provisions appear in the Code of Virginia and in the criminal sexual-assault articles collected in the Code of Virginia, which outline statutory details and sentencing structures.
The case is scheduled to return to Accomack Circuit Court in November, when Judge Lewis will review the presentence report and psychosexual evaluation before ruling on the plea deal. Court records list Bucci as a resident of Frederick, Maryland, and prosecutors have said the combined counts carry a total statutory exposure of roughly 42 years.
