To Catch a Predator · Petaluma investigation
Pulkit Mathur
Pulkit Mathur was charged after the Petaluma investigation. He failed to attend a later court appearance.
Photo: To Catch a Predator Wiki
- Outcome
- Charged
- Evidence
- Attributed reporting
- Jurisdiction
- Sonoma County, California
- Encounter
- Not established
- Decoy posed as
- Girl3
- Case number
- Not established
Personal details
- Occupation
- Human resources manager
- Hair
- Black
Charges & sentence
Attempted lewd behavior with a minor
Unverified5
Sentence
A verified sentence has not yet been added.
Attributed to the sources below. Consult the original record for full terms.
Case records
Hansen investigationCharged
Attempted lewd behavior with a minor
Unverified5
Reviewed sting-related legal outcome. Article later inconsistently says not caught or charged while also explicitly describing charges and bond. Treat this as unresolved prosecution, not conviction; do not infer present location or wanted status. Companion was not charged, which does not apply to Mathur.
Sources 5
Case narrative
Sting
Pulkit arrived at the Petaluma sting house, with Kanish tagging along with bags of food. Rochelle Therrien welcomed the two in, saying she had frozen lemonade ready. Therrien claims she'll get changed to get into the hot tub. As the tub turns on, Pulkit gave Kanishk a knowing look before Chris Hansen intervened and sat the two down.
As they claimed they just came to get some lunch, the two reply they are sorry and to be forgiven.
Police interrogation
Pulkit and Kanishk are sent to the booking station in the interrogation room. The two are separated and both had the opportunity to get a chance to talk to law enforcement to explain themselves. Pulkit was interviewed before Kanishk The officer read and reminded Pulkit of his rights and read them to him. Which, Pulkit does not understand at first but the officer then makes it clear to him. However, Pulkit agrees to talk to law enforcement, when the officer asks Pulkit why he came to Petaluma he explains that he just came to see her, and met her by meeting on a Yahoo chatroom. Pulkit tried explaining that he did not know the girl's true age but the detective reminded him to be honest and mentioned how she was thirteen.
Pulkit then was asked by the detective to help explain his intention and Pulkit claimed to just traveled to Petaluma grab lunch with the girl.
He mentioned how he wanted to have sex kissing her from top to bottom etc. The officer asked how many times she called him and he said three times.
The officer then interviews him and asks who did you bring here and he mentions Kanishk. The officer then asked how he knew Kanishk, and he mentioned they were colleagues. The officer then asks who drove and brought you here Pulkit replies Kanishk.
Pulkit was then charged and taken to jail for attempted lewd behavior with a minor and posted $30,000 bond and Kanishk was let go because of the lack of sexual intent. Pulkit failed to show up to court and is a wanted man. As of 2023, he still has not been caught or charged with his 2006 crimes, as he absconded back to his native country India.
Aftermath
According to his LinkedIn, Pulkit has worked in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India since 2011. Chris said in his podcast in 2023 that he had a feeling he will never talk to Pulkit. Since his LinkedIn was found, however, anything is possible
Community-written, from the To Catch a Predator Wiki. Not independently verified, and it does not establish charges or court outcomes.
Pulkit Mathur, To Catch a Predator Wiki contributors; see revision and history links. · CC-BY-SA
Media
Sources
- 1Pulkit Mathur & Kanish Lakhanpal on MegaphonePublic episode metadata matches the publisher RSS recording by title, release date and exact enclosure identifier. Reviewed publisher title/description names this profile as the subject of the recording.
- 2Pulkit Mathur & Kanish Lakhanpal on SpotifyPublic episode metadata matches the publisher RSS recording by title, release date and exact enclosure identifier. Reviewed publisher title/description names this profile as the subject of the recording.
- 3Pulkit Mathur (community wiki)Attributed community article. Revision date describes the article update, not a court or sting event. Full infobox, narrative sections, references and assets are retained in the private archive.
- 4Pulkit Mathur: occupation informationThe profile infobox lists these occupations. Undated roles do not establish current employment.
- 5Pulkit Mathur: legal outcome (revision 13666)Pulkit Mathur was charged after the Petaluma investigation. He failed to attend a later court appearance.