Dorset man jailed for child sex offences

A man has been sentenced to three years and three months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to arranging the commission of a child sex offence when he appeared at Guildford Crown Court today (3 March 2023), following an investigation by Surrey Police’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team and the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit.

On 12 November 2020, Rupesh Seth, then 36, of Filleul Road, Wareham, Dorset, a practising GP at the time, travelled from Dorset to Egham in order to meet an adult in order to sexually abuse the adult’s 10-year-old daughter.  Police attended and he was arrested on suspicion of attempting to arrange and facilitate the commission of a child sex offence.

 

His phones were seized and indecent images of children were found. He was further arrested and subsequently charged with three counts of making indecent images of children.

Seth pleaded guilty to all the charges when he appeared at Guildford Magistrates’ Court on 14 November 2020.

He was also suspended from practice following his arrest.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Andy Grimwood said: “This was a joint operation conducted with the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit and thankfully, during this investigation, there was never a real life victim and no children were ever in any danger. This is a really good example of the way we can work in collaboration to ensure that offenders are identified and dealt with.

“This led to us uncovering images on Seth’s phone which showed that he had an extremely active interest in indecent photos and videos of children. Obviously, this is of huge concern, particularly given his position of trust as a practising GP, and we ensured that we linked in with our partner healthcare agencies to ensure that any appropriate safeguarding measures could be put in place.

“I would also like to stress that the offence he was charged with did not involve any of his patients.

“Surrey Police is committed to fully investigating all offences of this nature and will always follow every line of enquiry to ensure that suspects are identified, located and brought to justice.”

Detective Inspector James Oxley, of the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU), said: “I am pleased that Rupesh Seth recognised his guilt and, as a result, was convicted of these offences. By working closely with Surrey Police and other police forces in the South East, our specialist officers are able to ensure offenders such as Seth are brought before the courts, keeping children safe from harm.”

Seth was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

For further support and advice, please contact the National Association for People Abused in Childhood https://napac.org.uk/

If you have concerns about your online behaviour, please contact The Lucy Faithfull Foundation at https://www.stopitnow.org.uk/how-we-prevent-child-sexual-abuse/the-lucy-faithfull-foundation/