WARREN, R.I. (WPRI) ─ A youth baseball coach and former youth football coach in Warren was arraigned Wednesday on charges stemming from a child pornography investigation.
Michael “Bird” Witherell, 59, was released on $10,000 bail and ordered not to have any contact with anyone under 18 years old. He was also ordered by a judge to stay off social media.
The investigation stemmed from a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that a Rhode Island resident was transmitting files containing child porn, according to state police.
While executing a search warrant at his Child Street apartment, detectives identified Witherell as the owner of digital media used to possess child porn, police said, adding that they seized his personal cell phone and computer, as well as “numerous printed images depicting child pornography.”
Police said Witherell has been a Warren Little League coach for the past 40 years and coached the East Bay Warriors Pop Warner football team from 1982-2014. There’s no evidence of any current involvement with members of either league, according to police.
Shaun Towne contributed to this report.
