Alleged child predator arrested in NYC, FBI fears there may be more victims

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Saturday, January 22, 2022
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NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- The FBI arrested a man who agreed to meet with an undercover agent in exchange for sexual activity with a child.

According to court documents, twenty-nine-year-old Richard Viet Nguyen was in communication with an undercover officer who posed as a father of an eight-year-old and five-year-old boy for several months before a meeting was arranged.

In the months long exchange Nguyen said he wanted to engage in sexual activity with both children including both oral and anal sex, according to the criminal complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.

Nguyen agreed to meet with the agent so that he could engage in sexual activities with the five-year-old.

The agent met with Nguyen at a coffee shop in Manhattan on January 20 and they agreed to head back to the agent's apartment where the children were.

It was on the way to the purported apartment that officers arrested Nguyen.

At the time of his arrest he was in possession of children's Benadryl and a condom in his pocket, according to court documents.

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"It's unfathomable to believe anyone would see a five-year-old boy as a sexual being," said FBI Assistant Director Michael Driscoll. What's more despicable in this investigation, we allege the subject brought Benadryl to drug the child. The work these agents do is truly difficult, but so tremendously important to protecting children from predators.

On Thursday Nguyen was charged with "attempted enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity," according to the criminal complaint. He could serve anywhere between 10 years to life in prison.

FBI agents believe there could be other child victims and are asking the public for help in locating them.

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