PORTSMOUTH — A 36-year-old Cranston man was arrested last week following an investigation by the Portsmouth Police Detective Division into a report of electronically disseminating indecent material to a minor.

Investigators developed information indicating that Nicholas Antoniou had been sending inappropriate images and messages to a 14-year-old juvenile in Portsmouth, according to police. 

During the course of the investigation, detectives obtained several items of evidentiary value, including online communication between Antoniou and the juvenile, police said.

Based on the evidence obtained, an arrest warrant was issued and Antoniou was taken into custody in Cranston without incident by the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force at 9:21 a.m. on Thursday, April 17.

He was transported to the Portsmouth Police Department for processing. During the course of the investigation, files containing child pornography were also discovered on Antoniou’s electronic devices, according to police. 

Antoniou was arraigned that same day in 2nd Division District Court in Newport on two counts of electronically disseminating indecent material to a minor, and possession of child pornography. Bail was set at $5,000 with surety, and as a condition of his bail, Antoniou is prohibited from having contact with minors and from using the internet, smartphones, or computers.