Dartmouth Professor Arrested in RI Backpage Sex Sting

By Mark Schieldrop/RI Patch

COVENTRY, RI - Coventry and West Greenwich RI police want the residents of the towns they serve that the scourge of human trafficking for sex is not limited to the inner city or dark alleys in urban centers.

The trafficking of minors and abused victims is common everywhere, thanks in part to the ease with which prospective Johns can solicit sex using cell phones and websites like Backpage.com.

In recent years, Coventry and West Greenwich police have recognized the activity occurring frequently in local hotels, especially right off I-95 right by the Coventry and West Greenwich town line.

Working together, both departments hatched a plan to shed light on problem and demonstrate that it is happening here.

They called it “Operation Front Page,” which was an “undercover operation designed to bring the blight of human trafficking from the secretive world of ’back page’to the ‘front page’ to expose this crime in our local community,” said Coventry Col. John S. MacDonald.

Police placed ads on Backpage.com. Men from across the region responded. Undercover policewomen arranged to meet at the Best Western off the highway. By the time they were done, seven men had ben arrested.

“We hope that yesterday’s operation sends a strong message that we are monitoring online human trafficking and will act jointly and aggressively to curb illegal solicitation in our communities which originates on these websites,” MacDonald said.

Coventry and West Greenwich police sought assistance from Providence police and the Department of Homeland Security, both members of the Rhode Island Human Trafficking Task Force.

Arrested were:

• Christoper Petrarca, 24, of Richmond
• David Sammartino, 45, of Warwick
• Stephon Alexander, 44, of Hanover, N.H
• Jacom Dubois, 20, of Warwick
• Neil Saunders, 58, of Providence
• Christopher Ricci, 31, of North Kingstown
• Rocco Pelopida, 38, of East Greenwich

Each man was charged with procurement of sexual conduct for a fee.

Alexander, according to the Dartmouth University website, is an associate professor in the Natural Sciences as well as Physics and Astronomy.