Prison Time For Man Caught In Delco Internet Predator Sting

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — A man caught in a major internet child predator sting conducted by Delaware County authorities was sentenced to prison for trying to meet with a child for sex, as well as trying to flee the country to avoid the charges.

Santhosh Akinepalli, 27, of Exton, was sentenced to 9 to 23 months in prison after pleading guilty to attempted statutory sexual assault. Akinepalli was also hit with a 5-year probation sentence after pleading guilty to fleeing to avoid punishment, court records show.

He was ordered to register as a tier 3 sex offender and undergo a psychosexual evaluation.

Akinepalli was arrested on May 5 for a second time after buying a one-way ticket to India from the United States following his initial arrest in the sting that netted nine other arrests.

His initial arrest came after an investigation by Kearney of the Ridley Township Police Department and member of the Delaware County ICAC Task Force.

On April 6, Kearney posed as a 13-year-old female on a social media application, and received a message from an individual later identified as Akinepalli, who asked, "How much for an hour?" while asking the juvenile to engage in sex.

Akinepalli said he would drive to the juvenile's location after acknowledging several times that he knew the juvenile was 13 years old.

On April 12, after engaging in sexual related conversation, Akinepalli arranged to meet the juvenile at a prearranged location and was taken into custody while traveling to the location.