6 FROM MASS. NABBED IN R.I. SEX STING
Rhode Island police posed as underage children on social media to lure alleged online predators in a “large-scale undercover operation” that resulted in 13 men, including six from Massachusetts, facing charges for seeking sex with minors, state police announced Thursday.
Officers from the Rhode Island Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force nabbed the men in the multiday “Operation Guardian” in Providence last week using 16 different social media apps and online classified ads to communicate with suspects police say believed were talking to children between the ages of 13 and 15.
The men arranged to meet the undercover officers “for various sexual acts at a predetermined location,” leading to the 13 arrests for indecent solicitation of a child, with “several” additional ones possible, Rhode Island State Police said.
“This type of operation demonstrates how dangerous social media is to our youth,” Rhode Island State Police Superintendent Col. James Manni said during a press conference. “Child predators are constantly looking for juveniles to exploit and prey upon, and parents must remain vigilant in communicating with their children and monitoring their child’s social media platforms.”
The Massachusetts men charged with one count each of indecent solicitation of a child include: Jose Carrion, 41, of Attleboro; Kevin Cooney, 27, of Bellingham; Anthony Gomes, 31, of Brockton; Michael Johnson, 50, of Templeton;
James Jolly, 41, of Middleboro, and Paul Kimata, 41, of Brockton.
Cooney, Gomes and Johnson were additionally charged with one count each of electronically disseminating indecent material to a minor. Carrion was charged with one count of possession of cocaine.
The Rhode Island men charged with one count each of indecent solicitation of a child include: Tomy Fitton, 39, of Pawtucket; David King, 37, of Westerly; Yuhua Kong, 29, of Providence; Stephen Lomastro, 57, of Warwick; Muhammad Malik, 44, of East Greenwich; Emmett Manna, 37, of Providence and Manna Mahuri, 41, of North Kingstown. Fitton was also charged with five counts of electronically disseminating indecent material to a minor, while King faces one count of that charge.
A judge set bail for Carrion and Fitton, a former Massachusetts sex offender who is no longer required to register. The rest of the men were released on personal recognizance.
Indecent solicitation carries a sentence of no less than five years in prison. Electronic dissemination of indecent material to a minor carries a sentence of up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $5,000.
Manni said the internet crimes task force averages 88 arrests and 348 investigations a year.
He delivered a stern warning Thursday to potential predators, saying, “We will use all available resources and go to any length to find you, to arrest you and to prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”