Crime & Safety
Worcester Man Used App To Arrange Underage Sex: FBI
The 40-year-old was arrested after he met an undercover FBI agent. A search of the man's phone turned up child porn, prosecutors say.
WORCESTER, MA — A 40-year-old Worcester man was arrested in August for possession of child porn after he met with an undercover FBI agent in an attempt to arrange sex with an underage girl, federal officials say.
According to the U.S. Attorney's office in Boston, Kenneth Gianatasio used the messenger app Kik to find underage girls. During one such bid, Gianatasio started chatting with an undercover FBI agent, who Gianatasio thought was the parent of an underage girl.
After meeting with the agent, the FBI searched Gianatasio's phone and found a video of child porn, according to prosecutors. He was arrested on Aug. 5, and is set to appear at federal court in Boston on Oct. 3.
The sting was carried out as part of Project Safe Childhood, which has been ongoing since 2006. The Worcester police cyber crimes unit and Massachusetts State Police assisted with the case.
