Elementary school and library custodian arrested, released on bail, after child pornography charge

The Rhode Island State Police today announced that on Thursday, members of the Rhode Island State Police/Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force arrested a Rhode Island man on one count of Possession of Child Pornography.

ICAC Task Force members recently initiated an investigation regarding an individual downloading child pornography over the internet. The internet connection was identified as allegedly downloading files containing child pornography. On February 7, 2023, members of the Rhode Island ICAC Task Force executed a court-authorized search warrant at 58-year-old Ronald E. Plante’s Coventry residence. Subsequently, Plante was identified as the owner of the digital media that was allegedly used to facilitate the possession of child pornography. Accompanied by legal counsel, Plante turned himself into members of the ICAC Task Force on February 16, 2023.

Plante was arraigned at Third Division District Court by the Honorable Magistrate Joseph Ippolito and released on $20,000 personal recognizance bail. Plante was assigned a future court date and ordered not to have unsupervised contact with minors.

For approximately fifteen years, Plante has been employed as a custodian for the Chariho Regional School District. For the duration of his employment, Plante has been assigned to the Hope Valley Elementary School. Additionally, for approximately the last 10 years, Plante has been employed as a custodian at the North Kingstown Free Library. At this time, there is no evidence of any inappropriate involvement with students or library patrons. As the investigation continues, police ask that anyone with pertinent information regarding Plante to contact the Rhode Island State Police/Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force at (401) 921-1170.

The Rhode Island Internet Crimes Against Children (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 Cranston Police Department, Warwick Police Department, East Providence Police Department, Pawtucket Police Department, Portsmouth Police Department, Bristol Police Department, and special agents from the Department of Homeland Security Investigations.