A Southampton man, Manoj Kumar, aged 26, has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison after being found guilty of child sex offences involving attempts to groom and incite a young girl into sexual activity.
The case began in 2021 when undercover officers from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary posed as a 12-year-old girl online. Kumar, who was 24 at the time, initiated contact and engaged in explicit sexual conversations via messaging apps including KIK Messenger, WhatsApp, and Telegram. In these exchanges, he complimented the fictional girl, calling her 'cute', 'sweet', and 'gorgeous', before escalating to graphic sexual content. He attempted to incite her into sexual activity involving penetration, claimed to be her boyfriend, and instructed her to keep their conversations secret and delete the messages.
On 17 February 2021, Kumar travelled to a Sainsbury’s car park in Victor Street, Southampton, believing he was meeting the young girl. Instead, he was arrested by waiting police officers and taken into custody. Following his arrest, an investigation analysed three mobile phones, a tablet, and a laptop seized from him, uncovering further evidence of his predatory behaviour.
Kumar was charged with attempting to cause or incite a female under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity involving penetration and arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence. He pleaded not guilty and stood trial at Southampton Crown Court in December 2023, where a jury convicted him. Sentencing occurred on 2 February 2024, with Kumar receiving a custodial sentence of seven and a half years. Additionally, he was made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years to protect the public from further harm.
Police Constable Sarah Tickner, from the Constabulary’s Internet Child Abuse Team, described Kumar as 'a manipulative sexual offender whose predatory behaviour is extremely concerning'. She emphasised the team's commitment to disrupting such offenders before they can harm real children, highlighting the dangers of online interactions for young people.
This case, reported by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, underscores the proactive measures taken by law enforcement to safeguard children from online sexual exploitation.