iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
An Indian American from San Pablo, California, has been sentenced to 230 months in prison by the Oakland federal court for producing child pornography.
Ranbir Singh, 47-year-old, has been accused of sexually assaulting two 16-year-old girls and recording video of one of the attacks pleaded guilty in federal court to the production of child pornography, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Singh was sentenced Wednesday, January 5, and faces over 19 years in prison.
Singh, pleaded guilty on September 15, 2021, to one count of production of child pornography. In his plea agreement, Singh admitted that on March 13, 2013, he engaged in sexual acts in an Alameda County hotel room with a female high school student. At the time, the minor female was 16 years old.
The plea agreement describes that Singh set up a video camera in the hotel room before the crime occurred. Singh then persuaded the minor female to engage in sex acts. Singh positioned the camera, he admitted, to record the acts. The minor female repeatedly protested during sex and told Singh to stop, but he continued.
“No statute of limitations exists for federal child pornography crimes, including the production of child pornography,” United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds stated through a press note.
“This tragic child sexual abuse occurred nine years ago, yet we still obtained justice for these victims. Their strength and perseverance in coming forward enabled our successful results. For those who suffered at any time from a similar crime, please find the strength to come forward as these victims did.”
In his plea arrangement, Singh admitted that in March 2013 he had had sexual activity in an Alameda County hotel room with a girl he knew to be 16 at the time, setting up a video camera in the room.
Singh further admitted that earlier, in January 2013, he video-recorded the same minor female sitting in a car’s backseat in a compromising and exposed sexual position.
In a memo filed for sentencing, the government describes that Singh first contacted the minor female on Facebook after he observed her at a local temple when she was 14 years old. He made in-person contact with her when she was 15 years old. At that time Singh told her he was in his 20s, despite being 38 and married with three children. In the months that followed, Singh picked up the minor female from her high school after classes or during breaks. He made ongoing attempts to pressure her into sexual acts. The sexual contact eventually occurred when the minor female was 16, a high school junior.
Singh further admitted that in May 2013 he traveled with a 17-year-old girl to a casino hotel in Placer County, knowing she was a minor. He admitted having sexual activity with the girl in a hotel room at the casino after showing her the video of him having sex with the other girl, the release said.
According to court records, the girls came forward to authorities later in 2013 and accused Singh of raping them but no charges were filed at the time after investigators found inconsistencies in the girls’ statements; eventually one of the girls wanted to recant. Singh had used a different name to communicate with the girls over Facebook, but authorities were able to confirm his actual identity through a passport photo.
According to prior reporting from this news organization, Singh was arrested last November on suspicion of battering his wife, but the investigation changed after she told authorities she had the videos of Singh sexually abusing the 16-year-old and that she recognized the girl “from a high school identification card she had previously seen on Singh’s nightstand,” the original complaint said.
Police located several videos later determined to be from the May 2013 assault that shows Singh raping a girl who protested and said she was in pain. The second victim later said the recantation of her statement about being sexually assaulted was false, and that she only did so because she was scared of Singh’s wife.
The cases were investigated by Richmond police and the Department of Homeland Security.
