NORTH PORT, Fla — North Port police went to Rhode Island this week to help arrest a registered sex offender who a spokesperson said was "luring" teenage boys in North Port and Englewood.
Authorities say 31-year-old Nicholas Sannicandro, of Smithfield, RI, was arrested Tuesday by police and FBI agents. He is charged with transferring obscene material to a minor and sexual exploitation.
Officers say Sannicandro had been using Instagram to chat with two Tampa Bay area teens, ages 13 and 14, about fishing.
"He later sent the boys fishing lures through the mail. A suspicious parent contacted us and our undercover detective began communicating, assuming the identity of one of the young boys," North Port Communications Manager Josh Taylor wrote in an email. "The registered sex offender talked about taking a fishing trip together and shared sexually explicit material."
That material, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, included live video of him performing a sex act on himself.
Court records reveal Sannicandro has previously been convicted of child porn possession in 2011 in Massachusetts. Also in Massachusetts, he was convicted twice in 2018 on charges of disseminating matter harmful to a minor, according to law enforcement.
"Please be vigilant with your children," Taylor said. "If it were not for this proactive parent and policing, who knows where this might have ended."
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