Admitting a raft of crimes against a person he thought was aged only 13.

West Cumbria Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Offences Against Decoy Child

William Beech, 51, of Hilton Terrace in Whitehaven, appeared at Carlisle Crown Court on January 26, 2024, where he pleaded guilty to 12 of the 13 charges against him.

The charges stemmed from a series of crimes committed around November 2023 involving a vigilante group decoy that Beech believed to be a 13-year-old girl.

Beech admitted to three counts of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, four counts of attempting to engage in sexual activity in the presence of a child, three counts of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act, one count of attempting to communicate sexually with a child, and one count of making indecent category C photographs of a child.

Judge Nicholas Barker adjourned the case to February 4 for sentencing. A probation service pre-sentence report will be prepared to provide background information on Beech and his offenses.

In the meantime, Beech must sign the sex offenders register, and the duration of that requirement will be determined at sentencing.

Beech was granted bail on the condition that he remains at his Hilton Terrace residence and has no unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18.