A police officer from Stevenage arranged to meet a 13-year-old for sex while "on duty, working from home".

Francois Olwage, aged 52, has been found guilty of trying to meet a girl under the age of 16 following grooming at Winchester Crown Court today (Thursday, April 14).

The Metropolitan Police officer, who lives in Hertfordshire, used Lycos Chat online to have an explicit sexual conversation with Smile Bear, who he believed to be a 13-year-old girl called "Caitlin".

The conversation moved to WhatsApp, and Olwage engaged in explicit sexual conversations with "Caitlin" for a period of two weeks.

The "girl", who was actually an undercover police officer, told Olwage that she lived in Basingstoke, Hampshire.

Olwage travelled by train to meet her on October 28.

The prosecution, led by Peter Shaw QC, told the jury that Olwage was listed as "on duty, working from home" on that date.

Olwage, who was serving with the Met's specialist operations unit, was arrested at a McDonald's restaurant in Hampshire by two undercover officers.

The court heard that he was in the process of buying a McFlurry ice cream to take to "Caitlin".

A search of Olwage's bag found two condoms, a bottle of lubricant and a packet of Tadalafil erectile disfunction tablets.

Mr Shaw said that a packet of Ferrero Rocher was also found, which he suggested might have been a gift for the "girl".

Olwage told Winchester Crown Court that he never believed "Caitlin" to be a girl aged 13, and that he thought Smile Bear was an adult "playing out a fantasy".

He denied having any sexual interest in children.

At the start of the trial, he pleaded guilty to an offence of improperly exercising his police powers and privileges in order to receive the "benefit of sexual gratification".

He was convicted of attempted sexual communication with a child, attempting to cause/incite a girl aged 13 to engage in sexual activity, and attempting to meet a girl under the age of 16 following grooming.

Olwage was originally handed an additional charge of arranging/facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, but Judge Jane Miller QC told the jury to find him not guilty.

He is remanded to custody until April 27, when he will be sentenced.