Vijay Mannari

He has more than 30 years of combined experience in the field of polymeric materials and coatings, in industrial R&D, technical consulting, and in academia. Mannari was the recipient of a number of awards and accomplishments, including the Michigan Governor’s Green Chemistry Award in 2012, and was inducted into the National Academy of Inventors (RadTech). His research interests included the development of sustainable polymers and coating materials, sol-gel derived functional coatings, Photo-curable coatings, Non-isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPU), and the study of structure-property relationships in polymeric materials. Mannari was also the President of the Detroit Society for Coatings Technology and has published several articles and books.

Vijay Mannari arrived at the sting house after about an hour of driving. After walking into the house, Mannari locked the behind him. Chris Hansen emerged shortly after to greet him. Mannari headed for the door but could only slightly open it, probably because he had just locked it, before police apprehended him.

Chris Hansen questioned why Mannari was there, who responded that he was there to meet a nineteen-year-old girl. However, shortly thereafter Mannari admits that the decoy told him she was fifteen, to which he claimed to be surprised. He stated that he did not intend on having sex or doing anything physical with the girl. Instead, he wanted to give her money to help her financial situation.

Mannari slightly changed his story to say that he only looked for young prostitutes because he was curious about how someone would get into a position like that, "just to understand." After seeing the destitute state that many of the girls he finds are in, he claims that out of the goodness of his heart he likes to send money to them to support their ambitions. Mannari has sent money to seven or eight young girls, but claims that he never met them. Of course, Mannari stated that his wife is unaware of his philanthropy.

Mannari then offered an excuse for discussing sex with the decoy which was that he feared the decoy would think he was police if he did not discuss sex. According to him, when he tried to "help" other young girls in the past, those girls would be skeptical of him giving money. As such, he found that girls would not be afraid to accept his money if he discussed sex with them first. This incredible logic led him to discussing sex with the current decoy, not because he wanted sex, but because it was simply a means to an end, the end being him giving her money with no expectation of anything in return. Chris Hansen expressed skepticism about this claim.

Vijay Mannari was taken into custody and released shortly thereafter while district attorneys review the case.

"The actions the individual is accused of are detestable and abhorrent, and stand against everything the University stands for. Although the investigation remains ongoing, the University is not aware of any allegations against the individual that involve University employees or students. We take these matters very seriously, as the safety and well-being of our campus community is our top priority."

There is no place for the repugnant actions he is accused of committing."

He was sentenced to five years of probation with one year in jail; this jail time will be suspended if he complies with the conditions of his probation. He was also ordered to undergo therapy and pay related fines and costs, and he will be listed on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry.

Mannari's plea came just before his scheduled trial. Chris revealed in his podcast that he had been subpoenaed to testify if Mannari's case went to trial.