Francois Olwage, a detective officer in the Met Special Operations Unit, is accused of treating someone he thought was a teenage girl he met on an online chat forum. But the Winchester Crown Court heard how the 52-year-old, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, was actually exchanging messages with an undercover detective. He started by asking if the “girl” had a boyfriend before saying that he would like to kiss her and move on to clearer messages and arranging for us to meet her, the jury said. Peter Shaw, who is being prosecuted, said: “He tried to arrange to meet a 13-year-old to have sex with her. This sexual intercourse was expected to take place in an apartment in downtown Basingstoke. “The plan was for the defendant to travel to Basingstoke – unaware that the contact he had with the man he thought was a 13-year-old girl was in fact with an undercover detective.” Mr Shaw said Olwage wrote, referring to the girl’s apparent age: “Thirteen, I have no problem talking to you. Are you okay chatting with me? I could be your dad.” The jury was informed that the couple also exchanged messages on WhatsApp, where the girl gave her name Caitlin, after exchanging numbers at the suggestion of Olwage. Mr Shaw said Olwage wrote: “I really should not encourage you to give your number to weird men.” Prosecutors said Olwage kept asking her what she was wearing, including her underwear, which she described as “sexy”. Olwage, who has been a police officer since 2006, also wrote: “I like talking to you, you’re cute,” adding: “I do not think your mom would like this conversation.” The jurors were told that the discussion was about the “girl” going to school and living with her mother, before the accused told her: “I always talk about sexual things, you are a beautiful girl, so I want to talk about sexual things. “ Mr Shaw said: “After a reference to how she would look in her underwear, she asks how she would go to school – it is firmly in her mind that she is talking to a 13-year-old girl.” The court was informed that as the messages became clearer, he talked about meeting her and arranged for her to travel by train to Basingstoke, Hampshire, to meet her in a park. In a long phone call to the “girl” who played the jurors, the accused was allegedly heard saying: “What we are doing is crazy, you know? “I should not encourage you to meet weird guys off the internet. I’m not weird, but there are weird people out there.” Olwage pleaded not guilty to having sex with a child and attempting to incite / motivate a 13-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity, to arrange / facilitate the commission of a child sexual offense and to meet a girl under the age of 16 after from care. The trial was adjourned until Tuesday.
