A serial child abuser who discussed the horrific abuse of victims online has been jailed.

Former Dover resident Roger Vye was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to the attempted rape of a child under the age of 13.

The 55-year-old of Odsey, Hertfordshire had previously admitted to the sexual assault of a child, two counts of assault by penetration and arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.

He was also found to be in possession of extreme pornographic and prohibited images of children which he made and distributed online.

The child abuser was sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment, with a further five years on extended licence.

He has also been issued with a sexual harm prevention order which stops him associating with any child under the age of 18 and he will be subject to the sex offender register for life.

Vye's crimes were split across Kent and London where he was arrested on October 22 having arranged to sexually abuse a young child.

A subsequent search was conducted at an address in Odsey, Hertfordshire and electronic devices were seized and submitted for forensic analysis.

The analysis confirmed the presence of a large collection of indecent images of children and also confirmed that Vye had a long standing interest in the sexual abuse of children.

It was later established Vye had distributed some of these images to other offenders online and sought gratification from discussing these.

Also recovered was evidence linking him to the historic sexual abuse of a child who had been subjected to a prolonged period of abuse between 2009 and 2010 in the Kent area.

Detectives investigating the case praised the bravery of the victims who stepped forward to give evidence against Vye.

Detective Constable Jonathan Booty, of the Met’s online child abuse and exploitation team, said: "Roger Vye is a dangerous and repugnant individual who will now face a significant period away from the general public.

"Roger Vye is a dangerous and repugnant individual who will now face a significant period away from the general public."

“Vye used social media to enable him to obtain thrills, discussing with other people around the world the horrific abuse of children. He was also partaking in the abuse and was clearly an active offender. The Met will continue to relentlessly pursue online offenders.

"Vye may have more victims, and I would urge any other potential victims to come forward and contact police as soon as possible.’’

An NSPCC spokesman said: “Vye’s history of extremely harmful behaviour shows an alarming indifference to the wellbeing of children. Thanks to the bravery shown by a survivor of horrendous child sexual abuse, he has been brought to justice.

“We want those who have endured these offences to know they will be listened to when they speak out, regardless of how many years have passed since their ordeals took place, or who the abuser is.

“They can speak in confidence to trained counsellors at the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000, while Childline is there for young people on 0800 1111 or www.childline.org.uk.”

Anyone with information of a potential victim is asked to contact DC Jonathan Booty via 101. Alternatively contact Crimestoppers anonymously via 0800 555 111.

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