Suspect sought in gas station robbery

Cranston Police are seeking a suspect in a knifepoint robbery that occurred at a gas station in Pawtuxet Village on June 11.

The suspect – described as a male standing approximately 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighing 115 to 120 pounds – is said to have entered the Gulf Express at 2148 Broad St. while wearing a blue, hooded Abercrombie and Fitch sweatshirt and a white baseball cap. The man’s sweatshirt was pulled up over his head and he covered his face with a white bandana or handkerchief, according to police.

“The suspect entered from the Commercial Street area and brandished a knife to the clerk,” reads a statement from police. “After exiting the store with cash he ran in the same direction he came in.”

Anyone with information regarding the robbery is asked to contact Detective John Ryan at 477-5066. Police may also be reached through the department’s main line, 942-2211, and anonymous tips may be submitted on its website, cranstonpoliceri.com.

City man pleads guilty to child pornography, enticement charges

A 39-year-old Cranston man last week pleaded guilty to federal charges of enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and possession of child pornography, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Aaron L. Weisman.

Paul J. Stabile will be sentenced in September and faces between 10 years and life in prison, prosecutors said.

According to the Weisman’s office, Stabile posed as a 16-year-old Newport girl – using the online persona “Cindi Mennillo” – between October and December of 2017. Using the persona, he is said to have “persuaded numerous young boys between the ages of 13-15 to engage in explicit sexual activity in live stream videos over Facebook Messenger and Skype.”

An investigation was initiated when the mother of a 14-year-old Nevada boy contacted the FBI to report her son had been the victim of online enticement. Chats between Stabile and the boy were discovered in which Stabile is said to have directed the boy to send video of himself masturbating.

Stabile, while using the online persona, is said to have claimed technical issues prevented “Cindi” from reciprocating with video. Instead, he is said to have sent the boy “images, both pornographic and non-pornographic, of an athletic young female purported to be ‘Cindi.’”

In November 2018, a search warrant was executed at Stabile’s home.

“Several computers and other media devices seized were found to contain child pornography, including videos of dozens of young teenage boys performing a sex act in a similar manner to the Nevada-based minor victim,” according to Weisman’s office. “Also found were the images sent by ‘Cindi’ to the minor victim.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. McAdams is prosecuting the case. The Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Warwick and Cranston police departments, and the Sheriff’s Department in Washoe County, Nevada, assisted the FBI in the investigation.

Sentencing scheduled in child pornography case

A Cranston man faces 3½ years in prison after pleading guilty to a federal charge of possession of child pornography.

Steven Papazian, 32, will be sentenced in September in U.S. District Court. He entered the guilty plea June 12, and the sentencing recommendation is part of an agreement with prosecutors.

According to the office of U.S. Attorney Aaron L. Weisman, the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force tied Papazian to an IP address involved in the sharing of suspected child pornography in January 2018.

In February of that year, the execution of a search warrant at Papazian’s residence resulted in the seizure of computers and digital storage devices containing more than 40,000 images and 800 videos of child pornography.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. McAdams is prosecuting the case. Homeland Security Investigations provided assistance to the task force.

-- Daniel Kittredge