Youth Baseball Coach Arrested in Warwick for Soliciting a Minor
Saturday, January 26, 2019
Lieutenant Colonel Kevin M. Barry of the RI State Police has announced the arrest of a 33-year-old youth baseball coach who allegedly used the internet to solicit a 14-year-old boy to engage in sexual activity at a Warwick hotel.
Christopher Merchant, age 33, of 259 Water St., Canterbury, CT, was charged with:
Indecent Solicitation of a Child (two counts)
Electronically Disseminating Indecent Material to a Minor (three counts)
Possession of Child Pornography.
Merchant is a vice president and coach with the Plainfield Little League in Plainfield, CT. At this time, there is no evidence of any involvement with members of the Plainfield Little League.
The arrest stemmed from an investigation by members of the Rhode Island Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. During the month of January 2019, an individual later identified as Merchant engaged in a series of communications with a person he believed to be a 14-year-old male. The conversation quickly became sexually explicit and he allegedly disseminated indecent material and solicited a person whom he believed to be a 14-year-old male to engage in sexual activity at a Warwick hotel.
As a result of the investigation, members of the ICAC Task Force obtained a warrant for his arrest.
On January 25, 2019, ICAC Task Force members arrested Mr. Merchant at the Warwick hotel. During the arrest, ICAC Task Force members located child pornography on Mr. Merchant’s cell phone.
In addition, Merchant was charged with two counts of indecent Solicitation of a Child; three counts of Electronically Disseminating Indecent Material to a Minor; and Possession of Child Pornography. He was ordered held at the Adult Correctional Institutions on $100,000 surety bail pending arraignment in District Court on Monday.
The Rhode Island ICAC Task Force actively engages in investigative efforts to identify subjects involved in child exploitation-related activities. The Rhode Island ICAC Task Force Program is administered by the Rhode Island State Police and supports a national network of multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task forces engaged in investigations, forensic examinations, and prosecutions related to Internet crimes against children and technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation.
The Rhode Island ICAC Task Force is comprised of members of the Rhode Island State Police Computer Crimes Unit along with detectives from the Warwick Police Department, Cranston Police Department, Newport Police Department, East Providence Police Department, Pawtucket Police Department, Bristol Police Department, North Kingstown Police Department, Woonsocket Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations.
