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Indian American professor caught in child predator sting video
Nisarg Jaydeep Shah was confronted on Aug. 2 inside a Pavilions grocery store in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood.
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Malvika Choudhary - Wed, 06, Aug 2025
- 15:13 EDT
- 31
Nisarg Jaydeep Shah during the sting operation / Screengrab from Instagram (@timjohnson.458)
An Indian-American professor is under investigation after being confronted in a viral sting operation that accused him of attempting to meet a minor for sex.
Nisarg Jaydeep Shah, an associate professor in the department of chemical and Nano Engineering at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), was confronted on Aug. 2 inside a Pavilions grocery store in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood.
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The sting was carried out by members of “People v. Preds,” operating under the social media handles @timjohnson.458 and @vans_against_predators.
In a video posted online, activist Tim Johnson confronts Shah with screenshots of sexually explicit messages allegedly exchanged on the dating app Grindr. The screenshots appear to show Shah identifying himself as 28 years old and continuing the conversation after being told the person was “about to be 15.”
“I feel horrible, the worst I’ve ever felt,” Shah is heard saying in the video. He refers to his actions as “abhorrent” and adds, “I fucked up. I need to maybe get help or something.” Outside the store, he admits to bringing lubricant and a douche, which he claims were meant to help the individual “get ready” and “prep.”
Two San Diego Police Department (SDPD) patrol vehicles arrived at the scene during the confrontation. While Shah appeared to be briefly placed in handcuffs, officers informed the activists that he would not be arrested at that time. His phone was seized, and the evidence was forwarded to the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
Shah is a faculty member in the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family department of chemical and nano engineering. He holds a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University. He currently leads a research lab at UCSD focused on immunoengineering and nanoscale materials.
The incident has prompted widespread backlash online, with social media users calling for Shah’s suspension and a formal investigation. As of now, no charges have been filed.
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