MEDIA CONTACT: Captain Michael J. Winquist, Detective Commander
Colonel Steven G. O'Donnell, Superintendent, of the Rhode Island State Police and Commissioner of Public Safety, announces that on July 26, 2012, at approximately 2:00 PM, members of the Computer Crimes Unit/Rhode Island Internet Crimes Against Children (RIICAC) Taskforce along with members of the Coventry and Providence Police Departments arrested Thomas Taylor, age 25, of 13 Gough Avenue, West Warwick, Rhode Island for 1.) Indecent Solicitation of a Child, and 2.) Procurement of Sexual Conduct for a Fee.
During the month of July 2012, the Computer Crimes Unit/RIICAC Taskforce initiated a proactive undercover investigation after a concerned parent reported that her 14 year-old daughter was solicited for sex by a 25 year-old adult male. The adult male used the social media site FaceBook to solicit the 14 year-old for sex and also offered her money to engage in sexual acts. Members of the RIICAC acting in an undercover capacity made arrangements to meet the suspect for sex in Coventry, Rhode Island. After the suspect arrived at the predetermined location, he was taken into custody by members of the RIICAC and Coventry Police Department.
Taylor was held overnight and arraigned this morning in Third District Court in Warwick before the Honorable Judge Pamela Woodcock-Pfeiffer. Judge Woodcock-Pfeiffer set bail at $1,000 with surety, issued a no-contact order for the victim and ordered that Taylor have no contact with any child under the age of 16. The penalty for conviction of indecent solicitation of a child is imprisonment for not less than five (5) years. Procurement of sexual conduct for a fee is a misdemeanor subject to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or a fine of not more than $1000.
The ICAC Task Force is a Department of Justice grant-funded program administered by the Rhode Island State Police Detective Division and is comprised of the six (6) members of the Computer Crimes Unit along with detectives from the Providence Police Department, West Warwick Police Department, Coventry Police Department, Warwick Police Department, Johnston Police Department, Pawtucket Police Department, Jamestown Police Department, Richmond Police Department; and special agents from Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), United States Postal Inspection Services (USPS); and Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). The objective of the ICAC Task Force is to form strong working relationships between local, state, and federal law enforcement in order to effectively and efficiently prevent, detect, investigate, and prosecute online child exploitation and child pornography crimes.