RAKESH MAHASETH CAUGHT IN PETERBOROUGH TRYING TO MEET 13-YEAR-OLD GIRL

A man named Rakesh Mahaseth, aged 32, from Peterborough, has been sentenced to prison after attempting to meet what he believed to be a 13-year-old girl. The incident unfolded on 23 February when Mahaseth was confronted by an online child protection group in an alleyway adjacent to Tesco on Broadway, in Peterborough.

Prior to this confrontation, Mahaseth had engaged in online conversations with a decoy operated by the child protection group. Their communication began on 4 February through a dating application, where the decoy portrayed herself as a young girl aged 13. During their exchanges, Mahaseth expressed a desire to say something “naughty,” and the conversation quickly took a sexual turn. He asked inappropriate questions, sent explicit images of himself, and continued to pursue the decoy with the intent of meeting her in person.

Despite the decoy’s claims of being a minor, Mahaseth arranged to meet her. However, instead of meeting a real child, he was met by members of the child protection group who had alerted the authorities. The group’s intervention prevented any contact from occurring.

On 13 June, during a hearing at Peterborough Crown Court, Mahaseth pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a girl under 16 following grooming. The court sentenced him to 26 months in prison. Additionally, he was ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years and was issued a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, also valid for ten years.

Detective Constable Lloyd Davis commented on the case, stating, “Although Mahaseth didn’t commit any contact offences and wasn’t speaking to an actual child, he still showed and acted on a sexual interest in children, so it’s great he’s been jailed.”