NAM VU

A volunteer from a church who sent over 8,000 inappropriate messages to a teenage girl and engaged in sexual activity with her has been sentenced to prison.

Nam Vu, 28, had groomed the girl he knew from a church in Cambridge, but her parents soon became suspicious and discovered deleted explicit screenshots and a WhatsApp chat between them.

All messages had been deleted, but when the girl was questioned, she claimed they were just friends.

Further evidence emerged, including a handwritten note in a book referencing sexual acts with Vu.

The girl later revealed to police that Vu had made sexual comments and encouraged her to participate in sexual activities, as well as touching her inappropriately.

Vu was arrested, but he remained silent during police interviews.

His mobile phone was examined, revealing more than 8,000 messages exchanged over six weeks in 2024, most of which were sexual.

The messages indicated Vu was grooming the girl, offering to buy her clothes, and praising her while knowing she was under 16.

He also admitted the risk of jail and said he was risking everything.

Despite denying guilt, Vu pleaded guilty in December to six offences, including sexual communication with a minor, multiple counts of non-penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13-15, and inciting a girl in that age group to engage in sexual acts.

On 19 February, he received a sentence of three years and four months at Peterborough Crown Court.

The court mandated indefinite registration as a sex offender, imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order with conditions to oversee any future conduct, and issued a lifelong restraining order to prevent contact with his victim.