BEHNAM TAGHINEJAD CAUGHT IN MANCHESTER GROOMING SCHEME INVOLVING LONDON AND LOUGHBOROUGH

In a disturbing case that highlights the dangers of online grooming, Behnam Taghinejad, a 22-year-old university student, was apprehended while en route to a hotel in Loughborough, where he intended to meet a 12-year-old girl he had been grooming over the internet. The incident unfolded after the girl’s mother discovered explicit messages exchanged between her daughter and Taghinejad, prompting her to alert the police authorities.

Taghinejad, who was studying for a Master’s degree in astrophysics at Manchester University and originally from Cheadle Hulme, Manchester, had initially befriended the young girl from the Loughborough area through online platforms. Using a false identity, he posed as a 14-year-old schoolboy, establishing a deceptive online persona. Over a span of just ten days, the two communicated extensively via Facebook, Skype, and email, exchanging approximately 1,900 messages. The messages included explicit sexual content and naked photographs, which further demonstrated the predatory nature of his actions.

On August 14, Taghinejad traveled from Manchester to Loughborough, where he had already booked a hotel room, with the apparent intention of meeting the girl in person. However, his plans were thwarted when her mother, upon viewing some of the explicit messages, took swift action by notifying the police. Officers arrested Taghinejad immediately after he disembarked from a train in Loughborough. During the arrest, they found him carrying condoms and a laptop computer containing incriminating messages and images of the young girl.

Further investigations revealed that Taghinejad was also grooming another girl, aged 14, from Kent, over the internet at the same time. This indicated a pattern of predatory behavior involving multiple minors. The police confirmed that he had created a Facebook account under the alias Aaron Kingston and used the website kidschat.net, which is aimed at teenagers aged 13 to 17, to establish contact with the 12-year-old girl. The communication included live webcam chats, during which he asked intimate questions, some of which the girl did not fully understand, as she later told police.

Despite the girl’s initial willingness, she later changed her mind about meeting him in person. Nonetheless, Taghinejad continued to pursue contact with her and also made contact with the 14-year-old girl from Kent, using the same false identity. Authorities expressed concern over his attempts to contact three other girls aged between 10 and 14, although no explicit material was exchanged with these additional minors.

During the court proceedings at Leicester Crown Court, Judge Simon Hammond addressed the seriousness of the case, emphasizing the defendant’s clear intent to engage in sexual activity with the young girls. The judge underscored the importance of protecting vulnerable minors from such predatory behavior, stating, “He clearly wanted to have sex with these two girls. It’s the duty of the courts to protect young and sometimes, no doubt, impressionable girls.”

Prosecutor Alan Murphy highlighted that Taghinejad was aware of the girl’s age, knowing she was only 12, yet he continued his grooming activities. Using the alias Aaron Kingston, he targeted the girl on the website kidschat.net and maintained contact through Facebook, engaging in live video chats and asking sexually explicit questions. The girl later told police she had changed her mind about meeting him, but he persisted in his online pursuits.

In mitigation, Steven Newcombe described Taghinejad as a person of previously good character who was candid with police and acknowledged he had a problem. The court sentenced him to four years in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of arranging to meet the girl for sex following grooming, possessing indecent images of her, and inciting the 14-year-old girl to engage in sexual activities.

As part of his sentence, Taghinejad was ordered to register as a sex offender for life and was subjected to a sexual offences prevention order. This order grants authorities the authority to monitor his future computer use and restricts him from having unsupervised contact with girls under the age of 16, aiming to prevent further harm and protect other potential victims in the future.