Crime & Safety

Cranston Man Indicted on First-Degree Child Molestation Charges

The crimes reportedly occurred in the 1990s but were not reported to police until last July.

A 37-year-old Cranston man has been indicted on first-degree child molestation charges for crimes that allegedly occurred in the 1990s.

Christopher Newsham, of 547 Laurel Hill Ave., Cranston, allegedly molested a person 14-years-old or under between Aug. 15 of 1991 and Aug. 15 of 1992. He also allegedly molested another person under 14 between March 6 of 1995 and March 6 of 1997, said Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin.

Police began their investigation when a complaint was received on July 17 of 2014 by the State Police Major Crimes Unit.

Police got an arrest warrant on April 11 and members of the unit arrested him shortly afterwards. He was arraigned in Providence County Superior Court and bail was set at $20,000 with surety.

Newsham, whose Facebook profile lists his job as a service manager at Firex in Portsmouth, is due to return to court on June 13 for a pretrial conference and was ordered to have no contact with the alleged victims.

Kilmartin said the Statewide Grand Jury today reported out a secret indictment charging him with the two counts of first-degree child molestation.


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