Man jailed for arranging to rape a child

A man who flew from America to Bedford after arranging to rape a child has been jailed for more than 11 years.

In February last year, Rahamim Shy, 47, travelled from his home in New York after arranging online to meet a young girl for sex.

Shy had set up the meeting after months of correspondence, however, unbeknown to him, the girl did not exist.

An in-depth investigation and operation carried out by Bedfordshire Police’s Internet Child Abuse Investigation Team (ICAIT), meant Shy was arrested when he arrived in Bedford.

He was found guilty on Wednesday (29 January) of arranging the commission of a child sex offence – namely rape and possessing indecent photographs of a child following a trial at Luton Crown Court.
He was found not guilty of possessing a prohibited image of a child.

He was sentenced to 11 years and six months.

Investigating Officer David Paton, from ICAIT, said: “Shy is a predator who had clear intentions of raping and abusing a child.

“Child sexual abuse will not be tolerated in Bedfordshire and we’re committed to tackling offenders to prevent them from causing further harm. In this case the child fortunately did not exist, but the immediate threats remain the same, and we work tirelessly to identify predators who pose a risk to our society.”