An Uber driver in North Carolina became concerned enough about a passenger’s destination to alert deputies that the adult man might be stalking a juvenile. What Davidson County investigators say they uncovered afterward stretched from an online relationship to a trip that began thousands of miles away in Mumbai, India.
Davidson County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the Meadowlands Community in northern Davidson County on September 24 following a reported verbal disturbance. Deputies said the Uber driver told them an adult male passenger appeared to be stalking a juvenile female.
Deputies encountered 31-year-old Prit Pankaj Jain of Mumbai, India, who told them he was attempting to leave gifts for a female with whom he had been in an online dating relationship. Investigators said they then discovered the female was a juvenile.
The discovery brought detectives from the sheriff’s office Criminal Investigations Division into the case, while Digital Forensic Specialists examined Jain’s mobile devices. Investigators also interviewed Jain as they worked to determine how the relationship began and what brought him to North Carolina.
The Uber Driver Saved the Day
Embedded Facebook post follows; please give it a second to load completely.
The sheriff’s office says its investigation found Jain had concealed his identity through social media applications and represented himself as a younger male. Investigators said he subsequently entered into a long-term online relationship with the juvenile.
According to the sheriff’s office, the juvenile eventually discovered Jain’s true identity, ended the relationship and blocked further communication with him. Investigators say that did not mark the end of Jain’s attempts to contact her.
Instead, investigators determined Jain traveled from his home in Mumbai to the United States in an attempt to re-establish contact with the juvenile. Deputies encountered him after the Uber driver raised concerns about the passenger and his reason for being in the neighborhood.
Investigation Leads to Sexual Exploitation Charges
Following the investigation and interview, the sheriff’s office charged Jain with four counts of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and four counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. He was also charged with one count of sexual extortion, bringing the sheriff’s office’s announced total to nine charges.
Jain was brought before a Davidson County magistrate and initially ordered held without bond at the Davidson County Detention Center. He appeared in District Court on September 25, where a judicial official ordered that he continue to be held without bond.
Davidson County inmate records provided to Guessing Headlights continue to list Jain on no bond, with his next scheduled court appearance set for October 6 at 2 p.m. The online inmate entry displays four counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and another entry labeled “Other – All Other,” while the sheriff’s office’s release provides the more detailed nine-charge breakdown.