David Chellapah, 31, repeatedly sent sexual messages to children and tried to arrange meetings with them
A child groomer who tried to meet underage victims in order to sexually abuse them has been jailed for ten years, following a sting operation by the Met Police. David Chellapah, 31, was sentenced to 10 years at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday, May 22, after pleading guilty to 21 offences relating to online sexual exploitation of children.
The offences were recorded between August and October last year, after police received a tip-off that Chellapah was messaging a child and trying to arrange a meeting in order to sexually abuse them.
Met Police officers intercepted Chellapah and arrested him on Friday, October 17, when he turned up to a meeting he had arranged with a child in order to sexually abuse them.
A forensic search of Chellapah’s mobile phone and electronic devices showed he had been targeting multiple children aged between 12 and 15 across social media platforms. He engaged in sustained grooming behaviour, sending sexual messages, inciting children to engage in sexual activity, and attempting to arrange further meetings.
Officers identified multiple victims through communications recovered during the investigation, with some children subjected to coercion and pressure to produce sexual images and videos.
Searches of Chellapah’s home address led to the seizure of several digital devices, including a USB stick containing a significant volume of indecent images and videos of children. Some material involved very young children.
Following a thorough investigation, Chellapah pleaded guilty to all counts in February 2026. His offences included sexual communication with a child, attempting to meet a child following grooming, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and offences relating to the production and possession of indecent images of children.
DC Alan Stepkowski-Fellows said: “Chellapah showed clear and persistent predatory behaviour, targeting children online and attempting to escalate that contact into serious harm. Our officers acted quickly to intervene, prevent further offences and bring him before the courts.
“Safeguarding victims remains our priority. We worked closely with partners to ensure all children were protected and supported, with specialist officers using trauma-informed approaches. We also secured strong digital evidence so victims did not have to attend court.
“We will continue working with partners to protect children and hold offenders to account.”
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