Rhode Island State Police make arrest in human trafficking sting

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rhode Island State Police say a man was charged as part of a lengthy human trafficking sting operation conducted by the agency’s Special Victims Unit.

Investigators said the operation was carried out as part of a coordinated national enforcement effort focused on trafficking and child exploitation cases.

The investigation resulted in the arrest of 30-year-old Shuvah Harris of Providence. Detectives allege Harris was involved in trafficking individuals for sex acts, including a person investigators say was first recruited as a child.

Court records show Harris was arraigned April 27 on five human trafficking charges tied to alleged sexual servitude, along with one count of solicitation of a minor. He was later held as a probation violator.

In a separate case connected to the same operation, police arrested 25-year-old Kearvens Theodore of Canton, Massachusetts. Authorities allege Theodore arranged to meet someone he believed was a 15-year-old girl after communicating online with an undercover investigator.

Police said Theodore traveled to Rhode Island with alcohol and marijuana before being taken into custody.

According to state police, the broader Rhode Island operation resulted in seven arrests overall and the recovery of six trafficking victims.

The investigations remain ongoing.