PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island — Two Rhode Island men have been charged with indecent solicitation of a child after an undercover sting by the Rhode Island State Police, the force announced this week. Blake Carpenter, 29, of Johnston, and Saw Ye, 50, of Smithfield, were arrested after the weekend operation and arraigned in court on Monday, November 9.
According to the Rhode Island State Police, the undercover operation was conducted last Saturday, November 7, by two specialised units working together: the Rhode Island Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the State Police Special Victims Unit. The sting targeted people seeking to solicit minors for sexual activity online, police said. Both men were then charged with indecent solicitation of a child. The charges are allegations; neither man has been convicted, and both are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Source: Rhode Island State Police via NBC 10 News (WJAR), Nov. 9, 2026
What the police have — and have not — said
State police have released the names, ages, home towns and charges, the units that ran the operation, and the court dates — and very little else. The force did not release additional details about how the sting was conducted or what evidence led to the arrests, and it declined to comment further because the investigation remains active, The Providence Focal reported. That silence is common at this stage of ICAC cases: investigators do not describe undercover methods or evidence while related inquiries may still be running.
Source: The Providence Focal, Nov. 10, 2026
No child is named or identified in the police account, and this report does not describe any meeting or message: it was an undercover operation, in which officers — not children — are on the other side of the online contact. Police have not said whether the two cases are connected to each other, and nothing released so far links the two men.
Source: Rhode Island State Police via NBC 10 News (WJAR), Nov. 9, 2026
The law the two men are charged under
Rhode Island law, section 11-37-8.8, makes a person guilty of indecent solicitation of a child if they knowingly solicit a person under 18 — or someone they believe is under 18 — for prostitution or for acts prohibited under the state's sexual-offence chapters. The offence is a felony. The companion penalty section, 11-37-8.9, provides that a person who commits indecent solicitation of a child shall be imprisoned for not less than five years, and a conviction can also bring mandatory registration as a sex offender, as The Providence Focal noted in its report.
Source: Rhode Island General Laws §§ 11-37-8.8 and 11-37-8.9 (Justia / FindLaw)
Background: the task force behind the sting
The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is a multi-agency effort that partners local, state and federal law enforcement to identify and prosecute people who use the internet to target minors. Rhode Island's task force works cases that begin online — with reported solicitation, exploitation material or tips from the public and from technology companies — and its arrests are typically announced only after defendants have been taken into custody and charged, as happened here. The State Police Special Victims Unit, the second unit in Saturday's operation, handles cases involving sexual assault, child abuse and other crimes against vulnerable people.
Source: The Providence Focal, Nov. 10, 2026
Rhode Island State Police say anyone with information about suspected online exploitation of children should contact the Rhode Island State Police or the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Parents are advised to know which apps and games their children use to talk to strangers online and to treat any adult who asks a child to keep a conversation secret as a warning sign to report, not to handle alone.
What happens next
Both men's next court step is the conference scheduled for February 4, at which the prosecution and defence review the case with the court before any trial date is set. Between now and then, the State Police investigation remains active, and police have not ruled out further information being released as it develops. If either case proceeds, prosecutors will have to prove the solicitation allegation beyond a reasonable doubt; the defendants, for their part, have entered the court process at arraignment, the formal reading of the charges. Johnston and Smithfield are both Providence-area communities northwest of the capital, and the case will be watched closely by families across the state's suburbs — including the South Asian and Punjabi families settled around Providence — because the allegation at its heart is the one every parent with a child online fears most: a stranger using a screen to reach a minor.
Source: Rhode Island State Police via NBC 10 News (WJAR), Nov. 9, 2026
What is solid
- Rhode Island State Police charged Blake Carpenter, 29, of Johnston, and Saw Ye, 50, of Smithfield, with indecent solicitation of a child after a Saturday undercover sting.
- The operation was run by the Rhode Island ICAC Task Force and the State Police Special Victims Unit; both men were arraigned Monday, Nov. 9, with a court conference set for Feb. 4.
- The charges are allegations only — no conviction has been reported and both men are presumed innocent.
What is only claimed
- How the sting was conducted and what evidence led to the arrests has NOT been released — police declined to say, citing the active investigation.
- Police have not said whether the two men's cases are connected to each other.