Rahamim Shy, a former US government aide, has been imprisoned for travelling to the UK to sexually assault an individual he believed to be a nine-year-old kid.
Rahamim Shy, 47, journeyed from New York to Bedfordshire in February of the previous year to engage in sexual relations with the girl, following over a month of preparation that included correspondence with an individual impersonating the girl’s grandmother, “Debbie”.
Rahamim Shy, a former senior adviser for Pakistan and Afghanistan during the Obama administration, was unaware that Debbie was an undercover officer of the Bedfordshire police and that the child was fictitious.
An international investment banker from Jersey City, New Jersey, was sentenced to 11 years and 6 months for conspiring to conduct a child sex offence and possessing indecent photos of a child at Luton Crown Court on Wednesday.
Shy articulated in detail on an online forum and through messaging applications his sinister intentions towards the girl and expressed his willingness to fly to England to execute them.
Rahamim Shy described the child’s age of nine as a “tad late” to start sexual activity, and said it was an “honour” to be considered “her first”, flying to Gatwick Airport on February 23 2024 before driving to Bedford where he was arrested.
Officers found cuddly toys and condoms in his luggage, which the prosecution argued showed a clear intent to win the child over before abusing her.
The jury also heard Rahamim Shy had indecent images of children on his phone as well as messages discussing his sexual interest in children.
Lorraine Telford, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Rahamim Shy is a predator who was fully prepared to commit unspeakable acts against a child for his own sexual gratification.
“The fact the child in this case did not exist makes no difference, and it is a credit to the police operation and subsequent prosecution that Shy will no longer pose an immediate threat.”
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