Paedophile groomed girl with free sweets before abusing her

‘Sexual offences against children do not often start with an immediate offence,’ police warn

Shibin Vimala Santhakumar, 45, was caught when he was filmed abusing the girl on CCTV (SWNS)

A paedophile shop worker who groomed a 14-year-old girl with sweets before sexually abusing her has been jailed.

Shibin Vimala Santhakumar, 45, was caught when he was filmed abusing the girl on the shop’s CCTV cameras.

He carried out the abuse while working at Windmill Avenue shop in Kettering, Northamptonshire, in September 2020.

He started giving the schoolgirl extra change and giving her free items and fizzy drinks when she came into the shop.

The grooming then progressed and led to him sexually abusing her, both inside the shop and at his home address.

The girl reported him to police in November of that year and Santhakumar was arrested after detectives seized CCTV from the shop’s hard drive.

Santhakumar, previously of Pipers Hill Road, Kettering, pleaded guilty to some of the charges but continued to maintain his innocence in regard to the offences that had taken place at his home.

But he was found guilty of all nine charges including sexual activity with a child, inciting sexual activity with a child and possessing indecent images after a trial in August.

Santhakumar was jailed for 11 years at Northampton Crown Court on 23 September.

Detective Constable Chris Waterfall, from Northamptonshire Police’s child protection team, said: “As an adult who had regular contact with children through his job, Shibin Santhakumar abused his position to groom this girl into sexual activity.

“Her support throughout our investigation has been vital and I want to commend her for the courage she has shown.

“This case shows that sexual offences against children do not often start with an immediate offence.

“Sandhakumar 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.”

SWNS