Alex Kelly (born May 8, 1967) is an American convicted

rapist Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person wh ...

Early life

Alex Kelly is the son of Melanie Reisdorf Kelly, a travel agent, and Joe Kelly, a plumber. He grew up in the Noroton Heights section of

Darien, Connecticut Darien ( ) is a coastal town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. With a population of 21,499 and a land area of just under , it is the smallest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Connecticut), Gold Coast. Situated on the Long Island ...

. In 1986, he graduated from

Darien High School Darien High School is the single public high school serving the town of Darien, Connecticut, in the United States. Background In 2014, Darien High School had the highest SAT scores in the state. In the 2004–2005 school year, Darien had the s ...

. His older brother, Christopher, died of a drug overdose in 1991 while Kelly was on the run. His younger brother, Russell, died in 2004 in a car accident in

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

, while Kelly was incarcerated.

Crimes

Kelly was charged with committing two rapes within a four-day period in Darien, Connecticut, in February 1986. He was charged first with the rape of a 16-year-old Stamford girl, and then with the rape of a teenager in Darien. In one of the rapes, according to the police, he encountered a girl who lived near him and offered her a ride home from a party. He was later also charged with

drug possession The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the recreational use of certain intoxicating substances. An area has a prohibition of drugs when its government uses the for ...

and two counts of

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

. Before his trial was due to begin on February 16, 1987, Kelly fled the United States and spent the next eight years on the run, mostly in Europe but also in North Africa and the Middle East. Kelly's parents allegedly supported him financially during this eight-year period, although they may have been unaware of his exact location. Law enforcement authorities suspected that the parents had been in contact with their son and, on at least one occasion, raided the parents' house in an attempt to find evidence of Kelly's location or their assistance to him. On July 18, 1994, the Connecticut State Police discovered photos in the Kelly home of Alex with his parents in Europe the previous year. His parents were charged with obstruction, after which Kelly surrendered in Switzerland. He was

extradited In an extradition, one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdic ...

to the United States on rape and kidnapping charges. Several lesser counts were excluded, as they were not specifically listed in the extradition treaty between the two nations. While out on bail, Kelly was allowed by the court to take classes at

Norwalk Community College CT State Community College Norwalk, formerly Norwalk Community College (NCC), Norwalk State Technical College and Norwalk Community-Technical College, is a public community college in Norwalk, Connecticut. It is the third-largest of the twelve c ...

. Kelly faced two trials in 1997. After the first was declared a

mistrial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...

, the second resulted in his conviction for the first rape and a sentence of 16 years in prison. He pleaded

no contest ''Nolo contendere'' () is a type of legal plea used in some jurisdictions in the United States. It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. It is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an ...

to the second rape and was sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison (sentence to run concurrently with the 16-year sentence). In 2005, after having served eight years of his 16-year sentence, Kelly appeared before a Connecticut

parole board A parole board is a panel of people who decide whether an offender should be released from prison on parole after serving at least a minimum portion of their sentence as prescribed by the sentencing judge. Parole boards are used in many jurisdiction ...

; his bid for release was rejected.Yardley, William
Parole Bid Is Rejected for Rapist Who Fled U.S.
''The New York Times'', March 4, 2005. Accessed November 5, 2007. At the hearing Kelly apologized many times saying he was "hypercompetitive" and self-centered, and that he had finally realized that the world was bigger than him. On November 24, 2007, Kelly was released from prison on good behavior. He is required to serve 10 years probation, perform 200 hours of community service, pay a $10,000 fine, and register with the Connecticut sex offender registry. Kelly has claimed that, while in prison, he earned a bachelor's degree in economics and Third-World development. He has since worked as a skydiving instructor. When his history was publicized, Kelly pulled his business from Harriman-and-West Airport in

North Adams, Massachusetts North Adams is a city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its population was 12,961 as of the 2020 census. Best known as the home of the largest contempor ...

Portrayals in the media

Kelly's story was recounted in an episode of

Dominick Dunne Dominick John Dunne (October 29, 1925 – August 26, 2009) was an American writer, investigative journalist, and producer. He began his career in film and television as a producer of the pioneering gay film '' The Boys in the Band'' (1970) and a ...

Court TV Court TV is an American digital broadcast network and former pay-television channel. It was originally launched in 1991 with a focus on crime-themed programs such as true crime documentary series, legal analysis talk shows, and live news cover ...

series ''

Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice Dominic, Dominik or Dominick is a male given name common among Roman Catholics and other Latin-Romans. Originally from the late Roman-Italic name "Dominicus", its translation means "Lordly", "Belonging to God" or "of the Master". The most promi ...

''. '' Crime in Connecticut: The Story of Alex Kelly'' (also known as ''The Return of Alex Kelly''), is based on Alex Kelly. The Kelly case was also featured in an episode of

A&E Network A&E (an initialism of its original name, the Arts & Entertainment Network) is an American cable and satellite television network and the flagship property of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Walt Disney Company ...

's series ''

American Justice ''American Justice'' is an American criminal justice television program airing on the A&E Network. From 1992–2005, the show was hosted by television reporter Bill Kurtis. The show features interesting or notable cases, such as the murder o ...

'' and featured on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

's news magazine show, ''

Turning Point A turning point, or climax, is the point of highest tension in a narrative work. Turning Point or Turning Points may refer to: Film * ''The Turning Point'', a 1914 silent film starring Caroline Cooke * ''The Turning Point'' (1920 film), an Am ...

'', whose segment title was "Fugitive Son: The Hunt for Alex Kelly." ''Vanity Fair Confidential'' aired an episode entitled "The Fugitive Son" on January 23, 2017.

References

External links

Connecticut: Stamford: Rapist Won't Seek New Trial
*
''Crime in Connecticut''Connecticut Sex Offender Registry page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Alex Andrew 1967 births 20th-century American criminals American prisoners and detainees American people convicted of rape Living people Place of birth missing (living people) People from Darien, Connecticut Prisoners and detainees of Connecticut People extradited from Switzerland People extradited to the United States American male criminals Wealth in the United States Crimes in Connecticut Darien High School alumni