Canton man gets 20 years+ for sexual abuse of girls

A Canton Township man was sentenced Thursday to more than 20 years in prison for sexually exploiting at least two girls, federal officials said.

Shailesh Patel, 54, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge George Steeh to pay a $50,000 fine.

Patel pleaded guilty in April 2021 to federal sex abuse charges involving at least two young girls. 

Authorities said Patel confessed to sexually abusing one of the girls in 2010 when she was 10 years old. He admitted that at least on one occasion he had the girl use his cellphone to record a video of her touching herself, according to investigators. She told FBI agents it happened at about 30 times from when she was about 5 years old until she was 12. The victim is now in her 20s.

Patel has also pleaded guilty in Wayne County Circuit Court to several criminal sexual conduct charges in cases involving two girls, one of them the victim in the federal case. He has yet to be sentenced in those proceedings, officials said.

cramirez@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @CharlesERamirez