By Chris Williams for The
Register.
This story has been reproduced with permission.
Police said it was the first time chat room logs alone had been
used to prove conspiracy to rape charges.
David Beavan, 42, of Bransgore, Hampshire, Alan Hedgcock, 41, of
Twickenham, and Robert Mayers, 42, of Warrington, had never met.
Hedgcock, who was given an eight year sentence, used an
incest-themed chat room to tell Beavan, who was handed 11 years
imprisonment, of his plan to abuse sisters aged 13 and 14. Beavan
indicated he wanted to join the attack, and the pair later
recruited Mayers via the internet too.
Judge Geoffrey Rivlin, QC, said the mens' conversations were
"most lurid and disgusting", the BBC reports.
The logs came to light when police confiscated computers after
Beavan told Bournemouth police about the plot in January 2006,
claiming he was a "vigilante" gathering evidence. They revealed a
detailed history of the plan, including the discussions of their
targets, where and how the crime would take place, as well as
thousands of child porn images.
Outside court, Detective Constable Dave Adams, of the Met's
child abuse investigation command, 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."
© The Register
2007
