Man who sexually groomed 12-year-old B.C. girl sentenced to 32 years in U.K. prison

A man convicted of sexually abusing and grooming a number of young girls, including a 12-year-old from Surrey, B.C., has been sentenced to 32 years behind bars in England.

Kevin Brock, 29, was arrested in the U.K. city of Cambridge in February and sentenced last month for offences including sexual communication with children, rape, sexual assault, possession of indecent images of children and online grooming-related charges, according to a news report in the Cambridge Independent.

Investigators had examined Brock's electronic devices and discovered child sexual abuse materials as well as evidence of contact with hundreds of underage girls over TikTok and Snapchat, police say.

Surrey RCMP say they were contacted by the Cambridgeshire Constabulary in April, and helped identify a local victim whom Brock had groomed and incited to engage in sexual activity.

"Online sexual exploitation is a borderless crime," RCMP Staff Sgt. Rochelle Kokkoris said in a news release.

"Surrey RCMP is committed to working with international law enforcement partners to investigate these crimes and to help ensure young people are protected online."

Mounties say Brock's crimes included hands-on offences against two children in the U.K.