'Spanky' the clown arrested on child porn charges, feds say

Miami Herald ^

[Lunatic Fringe]

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - A circus clown who goes by the name of "Spanky" was arrested last week in Fayetteville on charges involving child pornography, federal agents said Tuesday.

Thomas Riccio, 23, of Jacksonville, Fla., was arrested Friday by officers from the Fayetteville Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, ICE said in a news release. He was arrested while traveling with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, they said.

Riccio, who made his first court appearance Monday in Cumberland County District Court, faces 10 counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

ICE spokesman Dean Boyd said Tuesday he was not clear what happened with Riccio in court or whether he was still being held. He also did not know what sentence Riccio would face if found guilty.

Riccio was arrested as part of ICE's Operation Predator, which targets predatory crimes, including child pornography and child trafficking. Since July, Operation Predator has led to more than 2,900 arrests nationwide.

Leads from an Operation Predator investigation in New Jersey linked Riccio to a company in Belarus that provided credit card billing services for more than 50 child pornography Web sites internationally, Boyd said.

After receiving those leads, local police and federal agents searched Riccio's computer, where they found thousands of images, the news release said. Many of those images involved young children participating in sexual and lewd acts.

ICE set out to first arrest people with access to children or in positions of trust, Boyd said Tuesday night.

"Our first wave of arrests involved teachers, several priests, doctors, camp counselors, who were downloading and, in some cases, distributing illegal child pornography over the Internet," he said. "There are potentially thousands of leads in this case."

About 100 people have been arrested in the United States based on the Belarus investigation and another 100 were arrested in Denmark earlier this year, he said.

[Dave Elias]

Apart from the fact clowns are seriously suspect full stop, the name "Spanky" should set alarm bells ringing by itself!

[al baby]

[BMiles2112]

Spanky.
First clue?

[dead]

Grabby the clown just got very nervous.

[adam_az]

CNN has a photo...


Thomas Allen Riccio appears in character as "Spanky" before a performance in Florida last year.

[Teplukin]

I was thinking the same thing...

[Dog Gone]

I simply can't understand what the attraction of child pornography or sexual abuse is. Sure, some 16 year old girls try to look pretty hot, but an 8-year old?

[Lunatic Fringe]

Are you afraid of clowns?

[adam_az]

Firstcoastnews.com

First Coast News employee leaves for the "Greatest Show on Earth"

Thomas Riccio



"Spanky" the clown

• Traveling around with Thomas

By Jeannie Blaylock
First Coast News

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- It's been a lot of fun to watch Thomas get closer and closer to his dream. Many of us here at the First Coast News have been cheering him on as he developed his career as a clown.

I remember the day Thomas came into work so excited because he had finally saved up enough money to buy a real pair of clown shoes. They cost $210!

Thomas arrived at his job at 4 am to work in our Chyron department. His job was to put words and graphics on your TV screen. But even with those early bird hours, Thomas still entertained families all over the First Coast as "spanky the clown." He created his own costumes and styles, and that's one reason he thinks his audition tape was chosen by Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus.

Thomas will travel with the "Red Circus," one of two circuses which go around the country, starting in November. We'll be able to see Thomas in 2005 when he swings through Jacksonville.

Thomas said his mom and dad are thrilled for him and they're driving him to his first day on the job.

One little secret he's shared with us is how to make a pie to throw in someone's face. You don't use whipped cream, which can rot and smell bad. You don't use shaving cream, which can burn your eyes. The clowns use shaving mug soap beat up in warm water. It peaks just like meringue and comes right off!

The staff at First Coast News wish Thomas the best and are happy he's worked so hard to achieve his dream. Just think how many thousands of children will smile because Thomas has the gift of making people happy.

First Coast News

[csvset]

Spanky's pic can be seen here

[Clemenza]

"Everytime I see a clown, I just can't help thinking of John Wayne Gacy" --- Kinky Friedman

[adam_az]

google cache of the guestbook from his website...
http://216.239.53.104/search?q=cache:JO3Oiw6wnlIJ:www.travelaroundwiththomas.com/guest_book/index.php%3Fentry%3D10+site:travelaroundwiththomas.com&hl=en

[HighWheeler]

Here's a pair of clowns, looks like they's both doing some molesting:

[Teplukin]

LOL! Gosh, that was another great Seinfeld. Truly, an inspired show.

[adam_az]

Another photo... won the 2003 "Auguste Makeup 3rd Place"

[formercalifornian]

There are web sites for clown haters, and this event will feed their phobias even more, I suspect:

ihateclowns.net

[TheBigB]

Who'sm that clown...on the left?

[Skywalk]

Who can know? There are people that want feces or urine on them.

I imagine that the attraction to children is more psychological than physical. A 16 year old girl is, for all intents and purposes, a breeding age adult female.

An 8 year old lacks all the normal physical cues and thus I suspect the motivation to be mainly non-physical or perhaps a perversion of the attraction to smooth skin, flat faces, etc.

[HighWheeler]

Looks like a woman with an Adam's apple.