Vile Lewisham psychiatrist acted as a “moderator” on child sex abuse site

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Dr Kabir Garg, 33, has a twisted sexual interest in children and had thousands of child abuse images on his computer.

A junior doctor has been jailed for six years for his role in a dark web chat site dedicated to sharing images of child sexual abuse.

Kabir Garg, 33, from Lewisham, south-east London, pleaded guilty at Woolwich Crown Court to facilitating the exploitation of children.

Until he was arrested in November, he had been working as a psychiatrist for South London and Maudsley NHS Trust.

Garg had acted as a “moderator” of the site, the court had heard.

This involved overseeing the running of the site, which included giving advice in private messages on how to share images.

When he was arrested, the National Crime Agency (NCA) found thousands of indecent images on a laptop and SD card at his flat which had 522 category A images, which is the most serious category.

Adam Priestley,from the National Crime Agency, said, “Garg played a significant role in facilitating child sexual abuse. He utilized the dark web to access a global community of pedophiles who shared and discussed heinous crimes against children.”

Examinations of his devices also uncovered numerous medical journals and articles that discussed the psychological impact of child sexual abuse on a child, which the NCA said showed he understood the “devastating impact such actions have on children”.

Authorities revealed that Garg was one of the moderators of a website called *CENCORED* boasting 90,000 members worldwide. They uncovered hundreds of daily shared links to child abuse materials, and Garg held a prominent administrative role on the website.

“While there are hundreds of thousands of members on such sites within the dark web, only a few are willing to commit to being staff members, requiring them to dedicate significant unpaid time,” added Priestley. “Garg was arrested at his residence in Lewisham in November 2022 as part of an international joint operation while the website was open on his laptop, with Garg logged into his moderator account,” stated the UK’s national crime agency in an official statement.

Authorities also discovered over 7,000 indecent images and videos, as well as various medical journal articles acquired during Garg’s tenure as a psychiatrist. Among the materials seized was a journal article titled “A Study on Child Abuse India.” Bethany Raine, a specialist prosecutor, expressed her shock at Garg’s crimes, particularly given his understanding of the psychological impact of sexual abuse on children.

Prosecutors revealed that Smith manipulated teenage boys in India, teaching them how to befriend minors and subsequently sending them videos and images of sexual acts that he requested to be performed and recorded.

‘No choice’

Bethany Raine, specialist prosecutor of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit, said his crimes were “especially shocking given his role as a NHS psychiatrist, treating vulnerable members of the public, and his understanding of the psychological impact of sexual abuse on children.”

She added: “When faced with the evidence of his crimes, Garg had no choice but to plead guilty.”

She said the case illustrated the determination of investigators and the CPS to pursue child sexual offenders, including those who have moved their “vile activity onto the dark web“.

“These sites are horrific and have no place in society,” she added.

At a hearing on 9 January 2023, Garg pleaded guilty to one count of facilitating the exploitation of children, three counts of distributing indecent images of children, three counts of making indecent images of children and one count of possession of a prohibited image of children.

After Garg was jailed on Friday, the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust said it hoped it the sentence brought a “sense of justice and closure to all those impacted by his deplorable actions”.

The General Medical Council (GMC) confirmed that Garg is interim suspended “pending the conclusion of a full GMC investigation”. Upon the completion of the investigation, the GMC can refer the case to a full tribunal hearing where it will be decided if Garg will be struck off.

UK authorities also arrested 34-year-old Matthew Smith from London last year, during the same period as Garg’s arrest, for his alleged involvement in child sexual abuse in India. Investigators recovered thousands of images and videos depicting sexual harassment inflicted upon children from Smith’s devices. Smith reportedly paid Rs 65 lakh over a five-year period to two teenagers in India to engage in sexual acts with boys and share images.

Authorities suspect this to be part of a larger child pornography network, as they discovered numerous images and videos of sexual abuse. During his time in India, Smith worked in orphanages and NGOs, managing to establish a network of accomplices involved in child sexual abuse. He maintained contact with them even after relocating to the UK last year.

A former deputy head at the school once attended by Princess Charlotte and Prince George has admitted to paying tens of thousands of pounds to watch child abuse in India.

Matthew Smith, from East Dulwich, south-east London, began work at Thomas’s Preparatory School in Battersea last September after teaching in Nepal.

The 34-year-old was arrested by the National Crime Agency after investigators discovered he was sharing abuse material on the dark web.

At the time of his arrest, he was online speaking to a teenage boy living in India, asking him to send sexual images of a younger child, in return for money.

Southwark Crown Court was told Smith had dark-web sites and forums open on his computer which were dedicated to child sexual abuse.

He was charged the following day with five offences, including causing the sexual exploitation of a child under 13, and remanded in custody.

Chat logs and financial transactions showed the ex-teacher had paid that same teenager, and another, also based in India, £65,398 to abuse children over a five-year period.

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