LOUIS BEAGEN, NEWPORT PAEDOPHILE, SENTENCED FOR BREACH OF SEXUAL HARM PREVENTION ORDER IN CARDIFF
A convicted paedophile, Louis Beagen, was caught illegally using his father's Facebook account to contact women.Beagen, 28, from Newport, had been barred from social media under a false name as part of a sexual harm prevention order.
Despite this, he used his father Gareth Beagen’s Facebook profile to reach out via Messenger.
He told one woman, whom he had no prior contact with, that he had attended Hartridge High School, before sending her a photograph of himself lying bare-chested on a bed.
This woman recognized his image from a court report she had read in the South Wales Argus and subsequently contacted the police.
Beagen, a convicted sex offender, had previously served over six years in prison after his 2014 conviction for sexual offences involving underage girls, including rape.
Four years after that, he was re-locked up when paedophile hunters caught him attempting to contact three girls, one of whom was only 13, using his father's mobile phone and iPad.
His latest breach occurred last Christmas, leading to his appearance at Cardiff Crown Court for sentencing.
Beagen pleaded guilty to breaching the sexual harm prevention order, which aims to protect the public from further sexual offending.
Judge Richard Williams addressed Beagen, stating: "You used a Facebook profile in the name of Gareth Beagen.
Gareth Beagen is your father.
Your basis of plea is that you did not create this account but made use of it, and the prosecution does not seek to disprove that assertion.
However, under the terms of your order, you were required to notify the police about this account, which you did not do.
You used that profile to contact women through Facebook Messenger—these were all adult women.
One of whom became suspicious and found out that you also tried to contact her friend using a pseudonym.
She also recognized you from a newspaper report in the Argus, revealing you as a convicted sex offender.
This constitutes multiple breaches of the order and caused concern.
Julia Cox, representing Beagen, stated: "The defendant was not communicating with anyone under 18.
It wasn't an account he created for deceptive purposes, but there is no excuse for his actions." She noted that Beagen has been in custody since age 19 and is now 28, warning of potential institutionalization.
The court sentenced Beagen to 20 months in prison and ordered him to pay a victim surcharge upon his release.
