Chander J. Cardente Sentenced
Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to Thirty-Five Years in Prison for Enticing a Minor, Launching a Murder-for-Hire Plot to Silence the Victim
PROVIDENCE – A registered sex offender convicted in federal court for enticing a 12-year-old girl and then launching a murder-for-hire plot to have the victim silenced has been sentenced to 35 years in prison, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.
Chander J. Cardente, 30, previously admitted to a federal judge that he enticed the young girl to engage in multiple sexual encounters and later launched a murder-for-hire plot in a scheme to eliminate her as a witness against him.
Court documents reflect that in the summer of 2021, Cardente, while posing as a 17-year-old, began communicating with the minor victim via a messaging app, and told the victim that he was interested in having sexual contact with her. In December 2021, he met the girl a short distance from her middle school, drove her to various locations in Rhode Island, and engaged in sexual contact with her multiple times. Cardente was subsequently arrested and detained in state custody.
While being held at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI), Cardente communicated by telephone with another person, expressing his intent that the victim be murdered. In a conversation with a law enforcement officer acting in an undercover capacity, Cardente told the officer that the victim needed “to end up dead” because she was “a witness.” He offered the undercover officer $200 in cash and equipment worth $1,500.
Cardente pleaded guilty on March 20, 2025, to enticement of a minor, commission of a felony while being required to register as a sex offender, and interstate murder for hire. He was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Senior Judge William E. Smith to 420 months of incarceration and 30 years of federal supervised release, with the term of incarceration commencing on December 11, 2021, to include the time Cardente has been held prior to sentencing.
Cardente faced both federal and state prosecution in this matter. On May 1, 2025, at a hearing before Superior Court Justice David Cruise, Cardente plead nolo contendere to six counts of first-degree child molestation. Judge Cruise sentenced the defendant to 60 years with 35 to serve and 60 years of probation.
The case in federal court was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Milind M. Shah.
The matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations; the Warwick, Cranston, and Burrillville Police Departments; Rhode Island State Police; and the Rhode Island Department of Corrections Special Investigations Unit.
Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom acknowledges and thanks the Rhode Island Department of Attorney General for their assistance in advancing federal charges brought in this matter.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc