70-year-old sentenced to prison for forcing 11- and 13-year-old strangers into Rhode Island woods at knifepoint to sexually assault them

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter Neronha announced today that an Indiana man has been sentenced in Washington County Superior Court to serve life in prison at the Adult Correctional Institutions for child molestation and sexual assault.

On Tuesday, Superior Court Justice Sarah Taft-Carter sentenced 70-year-old Frank Thies to two consecutive life sentences to serve at the ACI. Additionally, Judge Taft-Carter issued a No Contact Order between the defendant and the victims.

On December 11, 2025, following the conclusion of a nine-day trial, a jury found the defendant guilty of one count of first-degree child molestation and one count of first-degree sexual assault.

“Today, justice is possible because of the tireless bravery that these two victims demonstrated during the original investigation and in the decades since,” said Attorney General Neronha. “Through advancements in genetic genealogy, the defendant will finally be held accountable for his terrible crimes. With this significant sentence, though long overdue, I hope other victims feel empowered to come forward and seek justice. I thank the Rhode Island State Police for their partnership on this challenging case.”

According to Rhode Island State Police, on April 12, 1987, Troopers were called to a home for a report of an eleven-year-old girl and a thirteen-year-old girl who were forced into the woods at knifepoint and sexually assaulted by an adult male unknown to them. The assault occurred in a rural and wooded area in the vicinity of one of the girl’s homes in Exeter, Rhode Island. A large-scale investigation was initiated. Physical evidence was developed to include the suspected DNA profile of the offender from a sexual assault evidence collection kit. This evidence was preserved and used to compare with several possible suspects developed throughout the years who were then excluded as contributors to the DNA sample. The investigation turned into a cold case due to a lack of new leads.

In 2005, with the advent of the Combined DNA Index System, an attempt to solve the case was made, but no new leads were generated. Once entered into CODIS, the unknown DNA sample was continuously searched against new entries into the database.

In 2019, Special Victims Unit detectives re-opened the case. The Rhode Island State Police Forensic Services Unit with the Rhode Island Department of Health re-examined the physical evidence and researched and initiated a request for genetic genealogy. In August of 2022, SVU Detectives received an investigative lead that the suspect was likely one of three brothers originally from Erie County, New York, all with various military service. Detectives worked with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and learned that the oldest brother, Frank Thies, with no previous known ties to Rhode Island, had reported to the Naval Justice School, Newport, Rhode Island, the day prior to the assault. With the assistance of the Indiana State Police, a discarded sample of Thies’s DNA was obtained, tested, and found to be a match consistent to the suspected DNA profile of the offender.

“The victims in this case have waited decades for a just outcome, and I hope today’s sentencing provides them with some closure,” said Colonel Darnell S. Weaver, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police and Director of the Department of Public Safety. “I want to commend our Troopers and our partners in the Attorney General’s Office for their thorough investigation and diligent prosecution that brought this case to its conclusion. We recognize that nothing can undo the harm that was done, but today’s outcome reflects our commitment to justice, no matter how much time has passed.”

Assistant Attorney General Timothy Healy and Special Assistant Attorney General Jessica Villella of the Attorney General’s Office and Detective Sergeant Kyle Draper and Major Michael Quinn (ret.) of the Rhode Island State Police led the investigation and prosecution of the case.