14 Feb 2020

A man from Luton has been jailed for 13 months for grooming and sexually exploiting a teenage girl.

At an earlier court hearing, Mohammad Tahir, 44, of Stratford Road, Luton, pleaded guilty to inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and on Friday, February 14, he was handed a 13-month prison sentence.  

The incident occurred in August 2018 when Tahir was working in a fast food shop in Shefford, which was a popular hangout for teenagers. 

He would regularly buy alcohol and cigarettes for the victim and exchanged text messages with her. On this occasion they agreed to meet that evening so he could take her to a local supermarket to buy alcohol. 

Tahir picked her up in his car and instead of heading to the supermarket, he took her to a layby and forced her into a sexual act. 

After the incident, Tahir continued to send messages to the girl, which her father found on her phone, and which led her to disclosing what had happened. 

Tahir was subsequently arrested and charged with inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. 

He will also be the subject of a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order on his release from prison. 

Detective Constable Allan Taylor, from the Child and Vulnerable Adult Abuse team, said: “There is no doubt that Tahir groomed this young girl by buying her cigarettes and alcohol, and then callously took advantage of her in the worst possible way. 

“His behaviour was completely unacceptable as he groomed her into engaging in unlawful sexual activity with him.

“I am pleased that he has received a custodial sentence and hope this sends a message out to anyone else who considers this type of behaviour is acceptable; we don’t tolerate child sexual abuse and exploitation in Bedfordshire.”

Signs that a child is being groomed or sexually exploited include behavioural changes, alcohol and/or drug misuse, self-harm, being absent from school, going missing regularly, acting secretively, and receiving unexplained gifts or money – to name just a few.