Man jailed in Norfolk for 10 years for child sex offences
He was met at the train station by specialist officers
A man has been jailed for 10 years after travelling to Norwich to commit child sex offences.
Axel Torres-Vargas was sentenced at Norwich Crown Court on Tuesday (19 December) after admitting seven offences at a previous hearing.
These included arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, three counts of distributing indecent photographs of a child and three counts of making indecent photographs of a child.
The 21-year-old, a Mexican national who was living in the USA, was given a 15 year sentence in total, made up of 10 years custodial and five years on license.
He was also given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Undercover officers
Torres-Vargas travelled to the UK on a short-term student exchange in June 2023, based in London.
Whilst there, he engaged in sexual communication with an undercover officer from the Eastern Regional Special Operations Unit, posing as an adult with a sexual interest in children.
They arranged for Torres-Vargas to travel to Norwich with the intention of raping a 10-year-old girl.
Torres-Vargas also shared indecent images of children with the undercover officer.
On 28 June 2023, Torres-Varges travelled to Norwich as arranged.
He was met at Norwich Rail Station by officers from Norfolk Safeguarding Children Online Team (SCOLT) and arrested.
Digital forensic examination of his devices revealed over 1,000 indecent images and videos of children, over 300 of those depicting the most serious sexual abuse of very young children.
Police also found various communications with other third parties where he discusses the sexual abuse of children.
"Disturbing"
Detective Sergeant Craig Dixon, from SCOLT, said: “Torres-Vargas had images and videos of the most disturbing sexual abuse of children stored on his mobile phone. He poses a significant risk of serious sexual harm to children.
“I hope this sentence sends a message of how seriously these kinds of offences are taken.
“Norfolk Constabulary Safeguarding Children online team work closely with Regional, National and International partners to make the internet a hostile place for individuals who engage in this type of online activity, and to safeguard children from serious sexual abuse and exploitation.”