A 29-year-old Johnston man and a 50-year-old Smithfield resident are facing charges of indecent solicitation of a child after an undercover operation targeting people trying to solicit minors for sexual activity. Blake Carpenter and Saw Ye were both arraigned Monday, with a conference in their cases scheduled for February 4, 2027.
Rhode Island State Police said the two people were charged with indecent solicitation of a child, according to WJAR. Carpenter was arrested and charged in Johnston, while Ye was arrested and charged in Smithfield, per authorities cited in the same report. The undercover operation that led to both arrests took place on November 7.
The Rhode Island Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Special Victims Unit jointly conducted the operation.
What the Charges Involve
Under Rhode Island General Laws, a person is guilty of indecent solicitation of a child if they knowingly solicit someone under 18, or someone they believe to be under 18, for prostitution or an act that violates chapters 9, 34, or 37 of Title 11, according to the statute excerpt published by the Rhode Island General Assembly. The specific penalties tied to the charges Carpenter and Ye face were not detailed in the available court or police records reviewed for this report.
Both people appeared for arraignment Monday, and per the same account, their next scheduled court date is a conference set for February 4, 2027. No information about pleas, bail conditions, or legal representation was included in the reporting.
How Other RI Solicitation Cases Have Concluded
Indecent solicitation charges have surfaced in other Rhode Island cases handled by the state Attorney General's office, though those cases are separate from the Carpenter and Ye matter and involved different defendants and circumstances. In one, a defendant entered a plea of nolo contendere to a count of indecent solicitation of a child among other charges and was ordered to register as a sex offender for a minimum of 25 years, according to a Rhode Island Attorney General release. In another, a jury found a defendant guilty of one count of indecent solicitation of a minor, with the presiding judge also ordering sex-offender registration, per a separate Attorney General statement. Those outcomes illustrate how such charges have been resolved elsewhere in the state, but they do not indicate how the Carpenter and Ye cases will proceed.
Their February conference will mark the next scheduled step in the proceedings.
