Four years in prison for sex shame takeaway boss

Ajay Varma (43) terrorised his victim and her family and used Facebook to show naked images of her.

Varma ran Smokey Jay’s, an American-style burger joint in Laburnum Road, Viewpark, and appeared on STV Glasgow’s Riverside show where he boasted about his food and gave a demonstration of his cooking skills.

Customers used social media to praise his food and ‘banter’ unaware that he was having sex with a girl aged just 14 after giving her a job in the burger bar.

After the girl told him she didn’t want to see him anymore he kept watch on her, followed her and shouted abuse and threats.

Varma, of Robslee Road, Giffnock, also created a fake Facebook account in the victim’s name and posted messages on it.

He appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court where he admitted having sex with the girl at the takeaway and elsewhere on various occasions between June 2015 and May last year when she was aged 14 and 15.

He also admitted taking indecent pictures of the girl and sharing these, and causing her fear or alarm by stalking her in May and June last year.

Today (Wednesday) he was sentenced to four years imprisonment and has been placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.

The court heard Varma also phoned the girl, sent her text messages and tracked her location through a mobile phone he had given her.

He humiliated her by posting sexual images of her on the Internet and sending them to her relatives, including her mother, and friends.

John Costello, defending, said: “His position is that, although he admitted the charges to avoid the stress a trial would have caused to witnesses, the offending just happened and there was no pre-planning involved.

“He is assessed as a low risk of reoffending.”

Sentencing Varma, Sheriff Daniel Kelly QC told him: “What has emerged in this case is that over a year you entered into some sort of a relationship with a girl who was initially aged 14 and then turned 15 when you were 41.

“It was after her grandmother spoke to you about some difficulties the girl was having that you offered her employment in your shop and did embark on this sexual relationship with her.

“At one point you took a video while you were engaged in sexual intercourse. You also had topless photos of her in your possession.

“At the end of this relationship, you engaged in stalking this girl and provided her with a mobile phone with a tracker which you used to follow her.

“You sent a video of you and the girl to her mother and posted photos of the girl on Facebook, Snapchat and WhatsApp.

“You even said you didn’t care if you got the jail for what you were doing as long as everybody saw the girl.

“There is a clear age gap here and it seems you have used your position in a controlling manner by recording and retaining these images and you sent the video to of all people her mother.

“You don’t have a criminal record but as is recognised the gravity of these offences is such nothing other than custody is appropriate.”

Smokey Jay’s opened in 2014 and closed last summer.