Ashfield paedophile who targeted 'Mansfield teenager' then went on the run set for lengthy prison term

Mezbaha Uddin was arrested by the National Crime Agency in Dover after being found hiding in a lorry destined for France.

The 39-year-old was under investigation by Nottinghamshire Police in relation to a number of incidents between September 2018 and July 2020.

A jury has now found him guilty of 16 child sexual offences. They included 10 counts of attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child and six counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Jurors heard he interacted with a decoy account set up by an online child activist group. The group alerted police when he sent indecent images of himself and arranged to meet who he thought was a 14-year-old girl in Mansfield.

Uddin was arrested and his mobile seized.

Messages from a chatroom website found Uddin, of Outram Street, Sutton, had attempted to engage in sexual communications with over a dozen underage girls, in some instances with a view to meet up with them.

On other occasions he encouraged girls to engage in sexual activity while he watched.

Detective Constable Stuart Dolby, of Nottinghamshire Police’s public protection team, said: “This was a complex and thorough investigation which included disturbing evidence for our officers to deal with.

“No child should be subjected to any sexual offence and it's our duty to protect them.”

Uddin will be sentenced on October 22.

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