Rhode Island registered level 3 sex offender indicted on 8 new counts

A Rhode Island registered level 3 sex offender is facing new charges.

According to Attorney General Peter Neronha, on August 2, 2023, the Statewide Grand Jury returned an indictment charging 29-year-old Chandler Cardente with eight counts: six counts of first-degree child molestation, one count of enticement of children, and one count of contributing to delinquency of a minor.

The alleged acts occurred in the cities of Warwick and Burrillville on or about December 10, 2021. The Warwick, Burrillville, and Cranston Police Departments conducted the investigation.

In September of 2022, Cardente was indicted for allegedly enticing a 12-year-old Rhode Island girl to engage in sexual activity in December of 2021 and later launching a murder-for-hire plot from within the state prison where he was being held on related state charges in an alleged scheme to eliminate her as a witness.

Cardente was convicted in July of 2014 of First-Degree Child Molestation and Third-Degree Sexual Assault which resulted in him being classified as a level 3 sex offender. He has also been convicted of failing to register on multiple occasions.

Cardente is scheduled to be arraigned on August 23, 2023, in Providence County Superior Court.