Internet predator gets 9-23 months for attempted child sex
MEDIA COURTHOUSE >> A child predator caught in a sting by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force was sentenced to nine to 23 months in prison with five years of probation last week after pleading guilty to criminal attempt to statutory sexual assault with a person 11 years younger and flight to avoid prosecution.
Santhosh Akinepalli, 27, of the 300 block of Apple Drive in Exton, was also ordered to serve five years of sex offender probation, undergo a psychosexual evaluation, surrender a cell phone and smart watch, and register as a sex offender for life under the negotiated plea worked out by Assistant District Attorney Diane
Horn and defense counsel Michael
Kotik. Assistant District Attorney Chris Boggs stood in for Horn Thursday.
Akinepalli was one of 10 suspects arrested as part of a coordinated task force sting operation in April. As part of that investigation, Ridley Township Police
Department Officer Tim Kearney posed as a
13-year-old female on a social media application April
6 and received a message from an individual identified as Akinepalli.
Akinepalli asked the underage female, “How much for an hour?” while requesting that she engage in sex, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Akinepalli also told Kearney that he would drive to the juvenile’s location after acknowledging several times that he knew the girl was 13 years old.
Akinepalli arranged to meet the underage female at a prearranged location April 12 after engaging in a sexual conversation and was taken into custody while traveling to the meeting place, according to the affidavit.
Akinepalli posted 10 percent of $50,000 bail April 15, but he was apprehended again after purchasing a one-way ticket from San Francisco International Airport to Hyderabad, India. A condition of Akinepalli’s bail required him to obtain permission from the Delaware County Bail Office prior to traveling outside Pennsylvania. No such permission had been obtained. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agents took Akinepalli into custody at the airport with the assistance of the Department of Homeland Security before the flight departed and he was returned to Delaware County, where he has been incarcerated since.
Akinepalli was given credit for time served and is eligible for early release on good time. Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge G. Michael Green indicated on the sentencing sheet that he should be immediately paroled to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement upon completing the minimum of his prison sentence.