School security guard arrested for soliciting child for sex

Colonel James M. Manni, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police and Director of the Department of Public Safety, announces that members of the Rhode Island State Police/Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force have arrested a security guard employed at The Providence Center School for soliciting a child for sex.

Anthony O. Padula, age 62, of 921 Providence Street, West Warwick, Rhode Island was arrested for the Indecent Solicitation of a Child after an investigation was initiated into Padula soliciting whom he believed to be a fourteen (14) year old Rhode Island boy to engage in sexual activity. Padula was taken into custody after responding to a prearranged location to meet the boy for sex. Padula was special arraigned at the State Police Wickford Barracks and released on $5,000.00 personal recognizance. His next scheduled court date is August 22, 2019, at Third Division District Court in Warwick.

At this time, there is no evidence that any students attending The Providence Center School have been solicited by Padula for sex.

A person found guilty of Indecent Solicitation of a Child shall be imprisoned for not less 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.