ADAM ELTABIB SENTENCED IN MAIDSTONE FOR GROOMING 12-YEAR-OLD IN CHATHAM
A man who exploited his passion for Japanese cartoons to groom a 12-year-old girl before falsely claiming to be a "hero" exposing pedophiles has been sentenced to a year in prison.Fantasist Adam Eltabib, who appeared in a Crown Court dock sporting bright pink and green hair, met the schoolgirl at an anime, cosplay, and comic convention held in London in 2018.
Her mother noticed numerous texts from Eltabib, aged 30, and later discovered that he was in possession of 3,000 indecent images on his computer.
Eltabib, of Eden Avenue, Chatham, admitted to engaging in sexual conversations with a child and to two charges of making prohibited images.
He has now been sentenced after his guilty pleas.
Maidstone Crown Court was told Eltabib is a fantasist who claimed he was a "hero" downloading vile images to fight those involved in such material.
Judge Philip Statman dismissed this as "fanciful," stating, "The nature of your conversations has, as a background, conventions held around the country by supporters of anime and cosplay, which allow people to go dressed as their favourite Japanese (cartoon) characters." Prosecutor Kathryn Hirst explained that the victim attended a London event dressed as her favorite anime character.
After returning home, she showed her mother photos of herself with others also dressed as anime characters, indicating she enjoyed the event.
However, her mother soon became aware of inappropriate messages sent to her daughter by a man named Adam.
Ms.
Hirst described how the mother asked to see a photograph and realized Adam was an adult.
She then explained to her daughter that the WhatsApp messages were inappropriate.
Police investigations into Eltabib, initially unrelated to this case, led to his arrest at his workplace.
Forensic analysis of his phone revealed images and chats with the girl, including references to sex.
Between February and November 2018, Eltabib sent WhatsApp messages expressing a desire to have sex with the girl when she turned 16.
The sentencing hearing was interrupted by a suspected gas leak, but the judge acknowledged the case's serious impact, stating that the victim had been "deeply upset" and her health had suffered as a result.
Judge Statman remarked, "A young girl was being asked in these texts to confront adult issues, and you took advantage of her expressing your sexual desires." It was revealed that Eltabib used the name of an anime character associated with stalking and spying on women.
On his Facebook profile, he expressed love for cosplay, mentioned attending multiple comic cons that year, and shared his enthusiasm for anime and gaming, writing: "Live in Medway.
I (love) cosplay and have a long list of comic cons this year.
Wish I could do more.
Love anime.
Gaming.
The usual."
