Mira Bhayandar: Man posing as producer rapes minors, films act to extort money

Less than 24 hours after a complaint was registered against him for posing as a producer and sexually assaulting two minor girls under the pretext of offering them roles in short movies, the self-proclaimed producer landed into the custody of the central crime branch unit of the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police on Wednesday.

The accused who has been identified as Lawrence Priden Lois was arrested from Navi Mumbai and booked under sections 376 (rape), 377 (unnatural sex), 384 (extortion), 506 (criminal intimidation) and under the provisions of the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at the Nallasopara police station.

According to the police, the girls came into contact with the accused on a social networking platform in December 2021. The accused introduced himself as a producer and lured the girls with claims that he launched new faces in his short films. After asking them to send their portfolios, the accused took the girls to a secluded area where he repeatedly raped them and also indulged in unnatural sex. He even filmed the act and later blackmailed the girls. He extorted a sum of Rs.70,000 while threatening the girls to post their objectionable pictures on the social media.

Sensing the seriousness of the case, the crime branch unit was roped in to nab the accused. A team led by API Dattatray Sarak under the supervision of DCP (crime) Dr. Mahesh Patil gathered details about the accused and tracked his social media account. The team apprehended Lawrence from Navi Mumbai. A resident of Panvel, the accused has confessed to his crime. Not ruling out his involvement in more such cases, the police are conducting further investigations into the case.