A disgraced Indian university student attempted to marry a 13-year-old girl to secure his UK visa status, a court heard.<\/p>\n
Vijay Mundrathi, 41, contacted the teenager – who was a actually decoy – via Facebook and was \u201csexually explicit throughout\u201d their messages, a court was told.<\/p>\n
He sent graphic videos of himself showering naked and asked if the decoy\u2019s \u201csix-year-old\u201d sister would be awake when they had sex in her room if he visited.<\/p>\n
In April this year Mundrathi – a post grad student who was studying at the University of Sheffield – planned to travel to Doncaster where he believed the girl lived, Sheffield Crown Court heard.<\/p>\n
Prior to the meet-up he told the decoy he needed a \u201cBritish girl to marry\u201d and he would buy her a \u201chouse\u201d when she was \u201cold enough\u201d.<\/p>\n
But upon arrival he was snared by paedophile hunter group 'Ride to Jail' in Doncaster after travelling there from Sheffield by train.<\/p>\n
Eugene Cross, prosecuting, said Mundrathi was detained by vigilantes and was found in possession of \u201cprosecco, rings, and his passport".<\/p>\n
Over two weeks between April 8 and April 25, Mundrathi also was chatting online sexually with three other decoys who he believed to be girls aged 14, the court heard.<\/p>\n
The court heard that his UK visa had run out.<\/p>\n
Barrister Chris Aspinall, representing the student said prior to the offences he had lost his \u201clife savings\u201d in a \u201ccrypto scam\u201d and had failed to extend his student visa in a \u201ccatalogue of misfortune\u201d.<\/p>\n
The barrister added: \u201cThere were clearly thoughts of marrying a young girl to secure his status – it was ill-thought out in terms of the age range of the girls he sought after.\u201d<\/p>\n
Judge Rachel Harrison jailed Mundrathi, whose address was University of Sheffield, Hoyle Street., for three years and 10 months and placed him on the sex offenders register for life.<\/p>\n
He was handed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, ordered to pay a \u00a3228 victim surcharge, and also given a baring order.<\/p>\n
Mundrathi had admitted four counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and one count of arranging sexual activity with child at an earlier hearing.<\/p>\n