A freelance producer for a news network is facing charges after he was accused of running a "house of prostitution" out of his Chandler home.
A month-long undercover operation that wrapped up Monday found Robert Richardson sought to hire male masseuses to work from his residence near Ray Road and McClintock Drive, court documents stated.
Richardson reportedly revealed that he wanted to have the workers give "sensual massages" and perform sex acts in exchange for money.
Richardson would take half of the fees, court documents said.
According to court documents, Richardson turned his bedroom into a studio where the massages would take place.
Richardson reportedly outfitted the bedroom with a hidden camera to "monitor" the massages as he touched himself.
An undercover officer visited the residence Tuesday morning and confirmed the masseuse was engaged in acts of prostitution.
Both the masseuse and Richardson were taken into custody.
As recently as last month, Richardson worked as a freelance producer for NBC News. This means that if a big story happened in Arizona, Richardson was often part of the NBC network crew.
An after hours email was sent to NBC News last night but no response was received.
In the past, the suspect worked in a management role at the FOX affiliate in Tucson.
A man who answered Richardson's phone Wednesday afternoon said he couldn't talk to a reporter and hung up.
Richardson faces multiple charges of prostitution-related charges.
