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05/02/2007
Three men jailed for internet rape plot
Three men who discussed a plan to rape a schoolgirl in an online chat room have been jailed for a total of 27 years.
David Beavan, 42, of Bransgore, Hampshire, Alan Hedgecock, 41, of Twickenham, southwest London and Robert Mayers, 42, of Warrington, Cheshire were found guilty of conspiracy to rape.
The men were given indeterminate sentences, but Beavan was told that he will serve a minimum of 11 years, while Hedgecock and Mayers will serve a minimum of eight years each.
All three men also pleaded guilty to distributing, making and possessing indecent images of children.
Southwark Crown Court heard how the men had discussed the plans, which included references to the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham in 2002, in a chat room on a free website.
The case came to light when Beavan walked into Bournemouth Police Station last January and admitted what had been going on.
Dorset Police discovered that Beavan had been using the internet to chat to Hedgecock who proposed abducting and raping two teenage girls.
The Metropolitan Police's paedophile unit began investigating and found evidence of online conversations between the two men, which detailed the identity of two girls - aged 13 and 14 - to be targeted and described how they would kidnap them, take them to local woods and rape them.
Further forensic examination of Beavan's chat logs revealed another discussion about the same girls with Mayers.
None of the men had met prior to their arrests.
DC Dave Adams, from the Met's Child Abuse Investigation Command, said: "These men took a step beyond fantasy and had actually identified the children they would target, the location where they would approach them and what exactly they planned to do to them.
"It is appalling to consider the potential repercussions if this hadn't come to police notice."
DC Adams said that the case was the first time that Internet chat logs had been used to prove a charge of conspiracy to rape a child. He said: "This case should act as a really stark warning that the internet is not a hiding place to plan and participate in criminal acts."
(KMcA)
David Beavan, 42, of Bransgore, Hampshire, Alan Hedgecock, 41, of Twickenham, southwest London and Robert Mayers, 42, of Warrington, Cheshire were found guilty of conspiracy to rape.
The men were given indeterminate sentences, but Beavan was told that he will serve a minimum of 11 years, while Hedgecock and Mayers will serve a minimum of eight years each.
All three men also pleaded guilty to distributing, making and possessing indecent images of children.
Southwark Crown Court heard how the men had discussed the plans, which included references to the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham in 2002, in a chat room on a free website.
The case came to light when Beavan walked into Bournemouth Police Station last January and admitted what had been going on.
Dorset Police discovered that Beavan had been using the internet to chat to Hedgecock who proposed abducting and raping two teenage girls.
The Metropolitan Police's paedophile unit began investigating and found evidence of online conversations between the two men, which detailed the identity of two girls - aged 13 and 14 - to be targeted and described how they would kidnap them, take them to local woods and rape them.
Further forensic examination of Beavan's chat logs revealed another discussion about the same girls with Mayers.
None of the men had met prior to their arrests.
DC Dave Adams, from the Met's Child Abuse Investigation Command, said: "These men took a step beyond fantasy and had actually identified the children they would target, the location where they would approach them and what exactly they planned to do to them.
"It is appalling to consider the potential repercussions if this hadn't come to police notice."
DC Adams said that the case was the first time that Internet chat logs had been used to prove a charge of conspiracy to rape a child. He said: "This case should act as a really stark warning that the internet is not a hiding place to plan and participate in criminal acts."
(KMcA)
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