September 2020

Herne Bay paedophile jailed following string of offences

A five-year and three month prison sentence has been handed to a police worker who pretended to be a teenage girl online and exchange indecent images and videos with children.

Mandeep Rai, 22 used various social media channels to pretend to be a 16-year-old girl and befriended teenage boys before exchanging indecent images and videos.

Kent Police officers from the Paedophile Online Investigation Team executed a warrant at his home address in Herne Bay on 11 April 2018. 

After examining Rai’s phone they found a social media account using a girl’s name that was used to contact a 14-year-old boy. 

Rai befriended him, and after making him believe they were in a relationship asked him to send indecent images and videos.

He would also encourage the boy to video call, but the boy never saw him on camera. Rai would also ask the boy to carry out indecent acts.

Rai was released on bail while the investigation continued.

He was further arrested in September 2019 after indecent images of children were found on a phone seized during his original arrest and was released whilst the investigation continued.

On 5 April 2020, Kent Police was contacted by the mother of a 12-year-old boy after he told her that he had been talking to a girl online and sent the girl images of himself, later found to be Rai.

Rai was arrested again but denied all the allegations put to him.

He was then charged with three counts of inciting a child to engage in online sexual activity, two counts of engaging in online sexual communication with a child and two counts of making indecent images of children and remanded in custody.

Rai was a member of police staff at the time of his arrest and immediately suspended.

On 22 June 2020, he pleaded guilty to all offences and on Friday 4 September he was jailed at Canterbury Crown Court.

Rai was officially dismissed from the force following a misconduct hearing on 24 August 2020.