Woonsocket Man Charged with Child Porn Possession

Lawton Parker, 29, of Woonsocket, has been going online into chat forums to talk about his sexual interest in children, police said.

That led police to take an interest in Parker’s interest and he was arrested Tuesday night at his 7 Elbow Street apartment by members of the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Col. Steven G. O’Donnell, superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police said that Parker was arrested after an investigation into Parker’s activities that began with a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The tip reported a person in Rhode Island was using the chat forms to talk about a sexual interest in children.

ICAC members soon identified Parker with help from Woonsocket police as the man behind the chats.

Police spoke with Parker yesterday and got consent to search his cell phone. A forensic examination of the phone revealed child porn images.

ICAC members then got an arrest warrant and he was arrested later Tuesday night.

Parker was arraigned this morning at Sixth Division District Court in Providence before the Magistrate Joseph P. Ippolito, Jr. and was held on $2,500 surety bail and remanded to the Adult Correctional Institutions.

Additional bail conditions include no contact with children and no access to the Internet. Parker’s next court date is August 27, 2015 for a pre-arraignment conference.

Although there is no indication of inappropriate conduct between Parker and minor children, police said, anyone with concerns of Parker having contact with their children may contact the Rhode Island State Police Computer Crimes Unit/ ICAC Task Force at 401-444-1710.