Undercover op catches 'grooming' offender, 34

A Shrewsbury IT expert who thought he was grooming a 14-year-old girl over the internet was actually corresponding with an undercover police officer, a court heard today.

Daniel Beeson, 34, of Shepherds Lane, Bicton, was snared in a major operation led by London's Metropolitan Police aimed at catching online sex offenders, Shrewsbury Crown Court was told.

Beeson, who admitted attempting to arrange or facilitate the commission of a child sex offence, was given a three-year supervision order and told to attend a community sex offenders group work programme.

He must also notify police of any change of address for the next five years and must pay £1,200 court costs.

Mr Denis Desmond, prosecuting, said the offence happened between February and October 2008.

He said Beeson had made contact in an internet chatroom with a Metropolitan police officer who had pretended she was a 14-year-old called Shelley.

During several online chats and communications with the officer, Beeson became increasingly sexually suggestive.

The court heard Beeson asked the girl questions about sex and also asked for a picture of the girl wearing only her underwear.

Mr Desmond said Beeson had also asked the officer if she would like to meet.

No meeting took place and in December 2008, two months after the last communication, police officers arrested Beeson and seized his computer equipment.

Mr Desmond said Beeson had been working as an IT officer at Wrockwardine Wood Arts College in Telford which caters for 11 to 16-year-olds but had no direct access to children there. Beeson took voluntary redundancy and is now unemployed.