A former policy advisor for former President Barack Obama’s administration was sentenced last week to over 11 years in jail after flying to the United Kingdom in an attempt to rape a child.
In a recent press release, the Bedfordshire Police Department announced that 47-year-old Rahamim Shy was found guilty last Wednesday 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.”
The Bedfordshire Police Department noted that Shy traveled from New York to the United Kingdom last February after “arranging online to meet a young girl for sex.” Police officials added, “Shy had set up the meeting after months of correspondence, however, unbeknown to him, the girl did not exist.”
According to The Telegraph, Shy previously worked in a senior-level position at the U.S. Treasury Department from 2008 to 2014. In his position under the Obama administration, Shy worked as an advisor for countering the financing of terrorism.
The Telegraph reported that prior to flying to Bedfordshire to try to sexually abuse a 9-year-old child, the former Obama advisor spent a month planning his trip. According to the BBC, law enforcement officers arrested Shy after his arrival in the United Kingdom and discovered condoms and cuddle toys in Shy’s luggage.
According to the BBC, Shy used an online forum and messaging apps to discuss the sexual abuse he was planning to engage in against the 9-year-old child prior to his trip to the United Kingdom. Shy also communicated with an undercover officer from the Bedfordshire Police Department whom he thought was the girl’s grandmother.
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In his messages with the grandmother, Shy claimed that the 9-year-old child was a “tad late” to the start of her sexual activity and that it would be his “honour” to be “her first,” according to the BBC. The outlet also noted that law enforcement officials discovered indecent pictures of children on Shy’s phone, as well as messages that exposed his sexual interest in children.
According to the Bedfordshire Police Department, Shy was sentenced to 11 years and six months in jail after being found guilty last week.
Following the sentencing of the former Obama administration policy advisor, David Paton, the investigating officer from Bedfordshire Police Department’s Internet Child Abuse Investigation Team, 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,” Paton added. “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.”
