RI Democrat with History of Child Molestation Running for Mayor of Providence

Providence, the capital city of Rhode Island, has been under the Democratic Party’s rule for well over 20 years in a row. Now the announcement of a Democrat to run for the mayor’s office in next year’s election has raised questions and concerns since the man is a convicted child abuser.

Last week, a handful of media sources, mainly right-wing ones, reported that Michael English has joined the list of candidates for the Mayor of Providence election which is to be held next year. Originally reported in The Providence Journal, the news got attention after popular conservative account Libs of TikTok posted about it on X.

The post sparked outrage among conservatives who called out the Democratic Party for allowing a convicted child molester to run for public office. The Gateway Pundit (November 21) published a brief summary of Michael English’s criminal record, notably his 1998 conviction over multiple counts of molestation of a minor. His victim was a 13-year-old girl. English pleaded no contest to the charges and was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment. But the judge instantly suspended over 18 years of this sentence and English ended up spending only 15 months in prison. This was, as critics saw it, a slap on the wrist for a very serious crime.

English’s criminal record doesn’t end there as he was reported to the police again in 2009 by the same victim. While being under a no-contact order, English drove to her house and tried to contact her. This violation cost English another 19 months behind bar.

Fifteen years later, Michael English is running for the Mayor of Providence. His campaign website describes him as a “blue-collar Democrat” who would protect the most vulnerable members of the city, not raise taxes, and make streets safer.

Media stories noted that English’s eligibility owes to the fact that he was not required to register as a sex offender for life but for 10 years only. The Gateway Pundit wrote:

Shockingly, English is not on Rhode Island’s public sex offender registry because his conviction predated stricter laws, and a court ruled he only had to register locally for 10 years.

English is the third Democrat to join the mayoral race in Providence against incumbent Brett Smiley and state lawmaker David Morales, who announced his candidacy for the mayoral office back in September. Some Democrats have since voiced their support for English and argued that what he did in his youth should not be used to demonize him in this phase of his life when he is a changed person and a proud Democrat.