NEW: RI State Police Arrest 13 Men on Charges of Soliciting Minors for Sex
Thursday, January 30, 2020
Rhode Island State Police have arrested 13 men on charges of child exploitation.
The arrests were made by the Rhode Island Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force as part of Operation Guardian.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTSee the List of Arrests Below
The Investigation
According to RI State Police, starting on January 24 and ending in the early morning hours of January 26, the undercover ICAC detectives used 16 different social media applications and on-line classified ads to communicate with the suspects.
According to State Police, these suspects believed they were communicating with 13 to 15-year-old juveniles of all genders.
The suspects arranged to meet these purported juveniles for various sexual acts at a pre-determined location. At the conclusion of the two days, 13 individuals were arrested with several additional arrests possible.
According to State Police, Jose Carrion, Kevin Cooney, Anthony Gomes, Michael Johnson, James Jolly, Paul Kimata, David King, Yuhua Kong, Stephen Lomastro, Muhammad Malik, Emmett Manna, and Manna Mahuri were all re-arraigned on January 29, at Sixth Division District Court before Associate Judge Houlihan.
All subjects, other than Carrion, received $5,000.00 personal recognizance with special bail conditions of limited internet use and no unsupervised contact with minors.
Carrion received $5,000.00 surety bail with the same special conditions.
According to State Police, Fitton was re-arraigned on January 27, at Sixth Division District Court before Associate Judge Houlihan and issued $50,000.00 surety bail with special bail conditions of limited internet use and no unsupervised contact with minors.
Fitton was held as a Superior Court Probation Violator. He is also a sex offender in Massachusetts but his registration requirement expired in July of 2019.
Possible Punishments
According to State Police, a person found guilty of Indecent Solicitation of a Child shall be imprisoned for not less than five years.
A person found guilty of Electronically Disseminating Indecent Material to a Minor shall be guilty of a felony and subject to imprisonment for not more than five (5) years, a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both.
A person found guilty of possessing a controlled substance, classified in schedule I or II, shall be guilty of a felony and may be imprisoned for not more than thirty (30) years, or fined not more than $100,000.00 nor less than $3,000.00, or both.
The arrests are as follows:
- Jose Carrion, 41; of 130 Jones Street, Apt. 1, Attleboro, MA was arrested on the charges of: indecent solicitation of a child, possession of cocaine
- Kevin Cooney, 27; of 24 Ann Marie Drive, Bellingham, MA was arrested on the charges of: indecent solicitation of a child, electronically disseminating indecent material to a minor
- Tomy Fitton, 39; of 40 Mill Street, Pawtucket, RI was arrested on the charges of: indecent solicitation of a child, electronically disseminating indecent material to a minor (5 counts)
- Anthony Gomes, 31; of 10 Main Street, Apt. 1, Brockton, MA was arrested on the charges of: indecent solicitation of a child, electronically disseminating indecent material to a minor
- Michael Johnson, 50; of 177 S. Main Street, Templeton, MA was arrested on the charges of: indecent solicitation of a child, electronically disseminating indecent material to a minor
- James Jolly, 41; of 47 Barden Hill Road, Middleborough, MA was arrested on the charge of: indecent solicitation of a child
- Paul Kimata, 41; of 685 Oak Street, Apt. 27, Brockton, MA was arrested on the charge of: indecent solicitation of a child
- David King, 37; of Newton Avenue, Westerly, RI was arrested on the charges of: indecent solicitation of a child, electronically disseminating indecent material to a minor
- Yuhua Kong, 29, of 127 DePasquale Avenue, Apt. 3, Providence, RI was arrested on the charge of: indecent solicitation of a child
- Stephen Lomastro, 57; of 166 Lakeside Avenue, Warwick, RI was arrested on the charge of: indecent solicitation of a child
- Muhammad Malik, 44; of 90 McPartland Way, East Greenwich, RI was arrested on the charge of: indecent solicitation of a child
- Emmett Manna, 37; of 46 Whittier Avenue, Apt. 2, Providence, RI was arrested on the charge of: indecent solicitation of a child
- Manna Mahuri, 41; of 32 Newport Avenue, North Kingstown, RI was arrested on the charge of: indecent solicitation of a child
Related Articles
- NEW: Victim of Fatal Sunday Morning Car Crash Identified by RI State Police
- RI State Police Investigate Fatal Car Crash on Route 146
- RI State Police Announce Arrest of Capitol Police Officer for Larceny at Twin River Casino
- The Incident That’s Torn the RI State Police Apart - Promises, Depositions, a Shooting, and Punches
- Top Ranked Minority RI State Police Officer Claims Colonel Retaliated for Filing Complaint
- Governor Will Not Refer Smiley-Crisafulli Threat Dispute to RI State Police for Review
- Former Top Lawyer for RI State Police Blames Col. O’Donnell for Decline of Agency Morale
- Deadly Motorcycle Crash—RI State Police Investigating
- RI Man Wanted in New York for Murder Arrested by RI State Police
- EXCLUSIVE: Audio Tape with Top RI State Police Unveils Charges of Cover-Up
- The “Proud” RI State Police Are Facing Significant Challenges — It Is Not the First Time
- Judge Rules on Gender Discrimination Case Against Former RI State Police Boss O’Donnell and YMCA
- Lawsuits, Allegations and Investigations Piling Up for RI State Police
- RI State Police Arrest 4 Men on Multiple Marijuana Distribution Charges
- RI State Police Commander Has Run Commercial Business While Working and on Medical Leave
