Lower Providence man draws prison for trying to meet underage girl for sex
NORRISTOWN — A Lower Providence Township man was sent to prison on charges he attempted to meet who he believed was an underage girl for sex in Conshohocken but in reality, was an undercover detective with whom he communicated via a social media app.
Ashish Kumar Verma, 38, of the 100 block of North Midland Avenue, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 3½ to 7 years in a state correctional institution after he pleaded guilty to felony charges of unlawful contact with a minor and attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a minor in connection with incidents that occurred in 2022.
Judge Thomas M. DelRicci also ordered Verma to complete three years of probation following parole, meaning Verma will be under court supervision for a total of 10 years.
Verma also faces a lifetime requirement to report his address to state police in order to comply with Pennsylvania’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act, previously known as Megan’s Law.
Verma also must undergo a psychosexual evaluation and comply with all treatment recommendations, the judge said.
Verma was arrested during an undercover operation regarding child exploitation on multiple social media platforms during which county and Conshohocken detectives posed as a 14-year-old girl.
In September 2022, Verma contacted an undercover detective’s social media chat account and the two engaged in numerous conversations, according to a criminal complaint filed by county Detective Michael Henricks and Conshohocken Detective William Walter.
Verma directed “the content of the conversation toward one of a sexual nature” and asked the purported teenage girl about prior sexual experiences, according to the arrest affidavit. The communications eventually included text messages and a phone call after which Verma sent who he believed was the underage girl a photograph of male genitals and his photograph, according to arrest documents.
“This photograph was then checked with facial recognition software and a suggested match was identified as Ashish Verma,” Henricks and Walter wrote in the criminal complaint.
Verma eventually suggested that he and the teenage girl meet and a meeting was arranged for Sept. 15, 2022, in the 300 block of Washington Street in Conshohocken. At 5:39 p.m. detectives who had the area under surveillance observed Verma arrive at the location and he was taken into custody.
Other charges of criminal use of a communication facility and attempted indecent assault of a minor were dismissed against Verma.
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