Crawley man ‘attempted to buy sex from a prostitute’

Redbridge Council says the incident happened in Ilford, East London, and was a breach of the borough’s Public Space Protection Order.

Kunal Sudra, from Crawley, admitted the offence at an East London Magistrates’ Court last week.

The council says that Sudra is the first person to be successfully prosecuted by them for attempting to buy sex from another person.

He was originally issued with a £100 fixed penalty notice after police caught him trying to buy sexual services from another person on Ilford Lane.

But, the council said, after failing to pay the fine, Sudra was taken to court last September, but failed to appear.

The case was proved in his absence and he was fined £300 and ordered to pay court costs of £300 and a £30 victim surcharge.

But, the council says, Sudra subsequently complained to the council that he had not committed the offence and that it was a case of mistaken identity, and therefore requested that his case be reopened.

However, says the council, the prosecution produced four witnesses at the retrial, and Sudra changed his plea to guilty and was subsequently fined more than £1,000 at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court.

Redbridge Council leader Jas Athwal said after the hearing: “This case clearly demonstrates that our enforcement officers take tough, decisive action.

“Residents and visitors need to be aware that Redbridge has a zero-tolerance approach towards people who publicly solicit sex.

“Our Uniformed Enforcement Team will relentlessly target these offenders and bring them to justice.”