NEWPORT, N.H. — A 36-year-old Grantham man is being held on preventive detention after he was charged with five counts of possession of child sexual abuse images, according to a news release from New Hampshire State Police on Friday.
Members of the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force searched Ricardo Vera’s home on Butternut Road on Thursday after receiving a “cybertip” from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which said computers within the residence may have been used to possess or distribute child pornography, the release said.
Vera was arrested following the search and was arraigned by video on Friday in Sullivan Superior Court in Newport. He is being held on preventive detention pending an evidentiary hearing, the release said.
Police said they are investigating whether Vera used various social media platforms to communicate with children; that he had traveled frequently to Texas, where he previously lived, and Florida; and that the investigation is ongoing.
“We are asking parents whose children may have been in the care of Mr. Vera, or who have been otherwise (in contact with) Mr. Vera to speak with their children about any experiences that they may have had with him,” the news release said.
Vera has a master’s degree from the University of New Hampshire and has worked since October 2017 as a research physical scientist at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center in Hanover, according to his LinkedIn profile.
His profile also says he volunteered as a science fair judge for FIRST, the New Hampshire-based robotics nonprofit that encourages children to enter the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.