Smithfield Man Accused Of Sending Obscene Material To A Minor

SMITHFIELD, RI — A registered sex offender living in Smithfield has been accused of attempting to send obscene material to a minor, said United States Attorney Richard B. Myrus in a news release.

According to court documents, 31-year-old Nicholas Sannicandro allegedly sent inappropriate sexual communications to a 13-year-old boy in North Port, Florida via Instagram with the identity of "Jackasslures," an account that posed at a fishing-related online site. The mother of the boy also said Sannicandro sent him a fishing lure in the mail.

North Port Police conducted an investigation, determining that the account belonged to Sannicandro. They also found that the 13-year-old boy had found out about the account from a 14-year-old classmate, who had been communicating with "Jackasslures" since January.

As part of the investigation, a North Port officer assumed the online identity of the 14-year-old and began communicating with "Jackasslures." The officer reported that "Jackasslures" sent images of himself, some of which were sexually explicit, and images of the inside of his boat docked in Warwick. He also sent a live video of him performing a sex act on himself and an invitation to go out on the boat with him.

According to the news release, FBI agents and state and local police officers arrested Sannicandroon Tuesday and charged him with attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor and commission of a specified sexual exploitation offense by a person required to register as sex offender. They also executes court-authorized searches of his Smithfield home and boat.

Court records reveal that Sannicandro was convicted for possession of child pornography in 2011 and required to register as a sex offender. He was also convicted twice in 2018.