The Rhode Island State Police announce arrested a previously registered sex offender on multiple charges of sexual exploitation of a child.

The Rhode Island State Police announce that members of the Rhode Island State Police/Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force have arrested a previously registered sex offender on multiple charges related to the sexual exploitation of a child.  Rodney Ootton, age 53, of 47 Greenslitt Avenue, Floor 1, Pawtucket, Rhode Island was arrested yesterday, March 11, 2020, on three (3) counts of Indecent Solicitation of a Child, after an investigation was initiated into Ootton soliciting a person whom he believed to be a fourteen (14) year old Rhode Island girl to engage in sexual activity. Ootton was taken into custody after responding to a prearranged location to meet the girl for sexual acts. Ootton was arraigned at Third District Court before Associate Judge Bucci and was released on $20,000.00 surety bail with special bail conditions including no contact with children and restricted use of the internet. Ootton was previously charged with statutory rape by members of the Memphis Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee. On December 2, 1998, Ootton was found guilty to the charge and was sentenced to a one (1) year suspended sentence and one (1) year probation. Additionally, Ootton’s sex offender registration for this charge expired on December 1, 2009.
A person found guilty of Indecent Solicitation of a Child may be imprisoned not more than five (5) years. 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.