A Harrogate child abuser and online groomer has been sentenced to six years and 11 months in jail.

Wenxiong Jiang, 26, was also made subject to a 20-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will remain on the Register of Sex Offenders indefinitely.

Jiang was convicted at York Crown Court on Friday of the following offences that he committed between February 2017 and December 2020:

• sexual assault on a two-year-old boy
• three counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity
• engaging in sexual communication with a child
• taking an indecent image of a child
• five counts of making an indecent image of a child
• possessing an extreme pornographic image involving an animal
• possessing a prohibited image of a child

Detective Constable Rebecca Townsend, of Harrogate CID, led the intensive investigation into Jiang’s offending following his arrest on December 15, 2020.

Posed as 15-year-old boy

The inquiry uncovered that he had added a 12-year-old girl on Snapchat and engaged her in conversations while he was posing as a 15-year-old boy.

Jiang pressured and then eventually threatened the girl to send him naked pictures of herself engaging in penetrative sexual activity.

When he was arrested, officers recovered 250,000 images from his devices including a video of himself sexually assaulting a two-year-old boy.

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The Digital Forensic Unit examined all the material to help identify offences and possible victims.

DC Townsend said:

“Wenxiong Jiang is clearly a very disturbed and perverted individual who poses a danger to children.

“He has rightfully been brought to justice and is now facing the full consequences of his depravity with a significant prison sentence.

“As a registered sex offender, he is subject to robust public protection measures for the rest of his life. He will also have to comply with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order lasting 20 years which is designed to severely limit his ability to reoffend in the future.”

Reporting suspected crimes involving indecent images of children and sexual abuse

You can contact:

• North Yorkshire Police on 101 or make a report via www.northyorkshire.police.uk. If you are in immediate danger, always dial 999 for an emergency response
• Child Exploitation Online Protection command (CEOP)
• Internet Watch Foundation – report suspected abuse of children online
• Stop It Now! – seek anonymous and confidential help if you or someone you know could be a sexual risk to children
• Supporting Victims in North Yorkshire online or by calling 01609 643100
• NSPCC Helplines: Help for adults concerned about a child – call 0808 800 5000
• Childline: Help for children and young people – call 0800 1111

Victims who would prefer not to go direct to the police and are not in immediate danger, can contact Bridge House, North Yorkshire’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), on 0330 223 0362, email bridgehouse.sarc@nhs.net or go to www.bridgehousesarc.org/