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A former counter terrorism adviser to the Obama Administration who flew to the UK to rape what he believed to be a nine-year-old child has been convicted and jailed.
Rahamim Shy, 47, an international investment banker from Jersey City, New Jersey, was sentenced at Luton Crown Court on Wednesday.
Shy had worked as a senior adviser for Pakistan and Afghanistan during the Obama administration before his arrest in Bedford last February.
Shy travelled to Bedford, UK from New York in February 2024 to have sex with the girl following more than a month of planning. Officers discovered cuddly toys and condoms in his luggage, which prosecutors said demonstrated his intent to groom the child before abuse.
This followed correspondence with an individual describing herself as ‘Debbie’, the girl’s ‘grandmother’, who was in fact an undercover officer with Bedfordshire Police.
The court heard how, using an online forum and messaging apps, Shy described in detail disturbing acts he wanted to do to the girl and said he was prepared to travel to England to do so.
Shy described the child’s age of nine as a “tad late” to start sexual activity, and said it was an “honour” to be considered “her first”.
Shy was found guilty of arranging the commission of a child sex offense, namely rape, and possessing indecent photographs of a child, at Luton Crown Court on Wednesday, and was jailed for 11 years and six months.