Paedophile Kettering shop worker groomed girl with sweets

A paedophile who groomed a teenage girl by giving her sweets before sexual abusing her has been locked up.

Shop worker Shibin Vimala Santhakumar, of Pipers Hill Road in Kettering, handed her extra change and gave her free confectionery and soft drinks.

The 45-year-old then sexually abused her before the victim reported the offences to Northamptonshire Police.

Santhakumar initially denied the allegations when he was interviewed by officers and was charged with three counts of sexual activity with a child, four counts of inciting sexual activity with a child and two counts of possession of indecent images of children.

He pleaded guilty to some offences before his trial and was convicted of all remaining charges by a jury.

At Northampton Crown Court he was jailed for 11 years, with a further two years on licence.

Lead investigator Detective Constable Chris Waterfall, from Northamptonshire Police’s child protection team, commended the victim for her courage and said her support was vital to their investigation.

He said: “This case shows that sexual offences against children do not often start with an immediate offence. Santhakumar gradually built trust with this girl through offering her free items and money off her purchases. It then escalated into this abuse.

“I welcome the sentence handed out to him as it means there is one less sexual predator on our streets and one less person able to harm children. I hope this result shows the seriousness with which Northamptonshire Police takes these offences and I want to reassure the public that we will continue to work hard to bring people like Santhakumar to justice.”