NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C., October 1, 2026: A 31-year-old Mumbai man has been arrested in North Carolina on multiple sexual exploitation charges after authorities said he traveled from India in an attempt to contact a juvenile with whom he had maintained an online relationship.
Prit Pankaj Jain faces four counts of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, four counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of sexual extortion, according to the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office. He is being held without bond.
The investigation began Sept. 24 when Davidson County sheriff’s deputies responded to a reported verbal disturbance in the Meadowlands Community in northern Davidson County.
According to the sheriff’s office, an Uber driver alerted deputies that an adult male passenger was allegedly stalking a juvenile girl.
When deputies contacted Jain, he told them he was attempting to leave gifts for a girl with whom he had been in an online dating relationship. Deputies subsequently determined that the girl was a juvenile.
Detectives with the sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division began an investigation and interviewed Jain, while digital forensic specialists examined mobile devices belonging to him.
Investigators allege that Jain had concealed his identity through social media applications, represented himself as a younger male and entered into a long-term online relationship with the juvenile.
Authorities said the girl eventually learned Jain’s true identity, ended the relationship and blocked further communication with him. Investigators allege that Jain then traveled from his home in Mumbai to the United States in an attempt to re-establish contact with her.
Following the investigation, Jain was arrested on the nine charges.
He was brought before a Davidson County magistrate and ordered held without bond at the Davidson County Detention Center.
Jain appeared in Davidson County District Court on Sept. 25, where a judicial official ordered that he continue to be held without bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 6.
The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office is based in Lexington, North Carolina.
The charges are allegations, and Jain has not been convicted.
Cover photo credit: Davidson County Sheriff’s Office.
