Man fled UK after luring 13-year-old Girl to Hotel for Sex

Venkat Rakesh Annapureddy, aged 25, was jailed for five years after he lured a 13-year-old girl to a hotel for sex.

However, he was jailed in his absence after he fled the UK to return to his home country of India.

Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard that Annapureddy was an IT student at UCLan in Preston.

He met the girl on a dating website, where she would have had to declare she was 18-years-old as per the service’s terms and conditions.

The girl later revealed to Annapureddy that she had just turned 13. Annapureddy continued to pursue her.

Recorder Mark Ainsworth said: “Her evidence was clear – she was open with the defendant as to her age and told him how old she was.

“There was a conversation between them on Snapchat and we have much of that from the phones recovered by the police.

“What is clear is this is a highly sexualised conversation between a 25-year-old and 13-year-old.

“What is also clear is the defendant was aware she was under 16.”

Annapureddy and the young girl turned up at a Blackburn hotel. He asked to rent a room for a couple of hours.

However, the hotel’s owner became suspicious of the pair and came up with a plan to stall them while he secretly called the police.

Mr Recorder Ainsworth praised the hotel owner’s conduct.

He said: “It is significant that the hotel’s owner said he thought the girl looked 14 and he asked for identification.

“When he asked for that ID the plan from the defendant was to cancel the room.

“However, he then said he would take a deposit rather than see identification and the booking went ahead.

“The hotel owner, thinking quickly, came up with a way to delay the defendant and the girl at the premises while he called the police.

“He told them there was a room being vacated and that it would be ready very shortly after it had been cleaned.

“He invited them to wait in the dining room, which they did.

“Officers arrived within around 10 minutes and spoke to the defendant and he was later arrested.”

“While being arrested he was apologising for his conduct and saying he wouldn’t do it again.”

Annapureddy pleaded not guilty to one count of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and a second of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sexual offence.

He was sent on bail to crown court for trial. But in May 2020, Annapureddy fled to India.

It was heard that Annapureddy was of previous good character and was not deemed a dangerous offender.

Lancashire Telegraph reported that he was jailed for five years in his absence. He was also made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.