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Metropolitan police officer Francois Olwage jailed for child sex offences

|News, Sexual offences

Metropolitan police officer Francois Olwage has today been handed a five-and-a-half-year prison sentence after being found guilty of three child sex offences. 

Francois Olwage
Francois Olwage

Olwage, 52, was convicted of attempting to groom and engage in sexual activity with a child at Winchester Crown Court on 14 April.

Last October, while on duty, Olwage intended to meet a 13-year-old girl at a flat in Basingstoke, having spent the previous two weeks grooming her via private online messages. When he was arrested that same day, he was found carrying condoms, lubricant and a Viagra-like drug.

Unknown to Olwage, the person he was messaging was actually an undercover police officer posing as a young teenage girl online. In a statement to police, he claimed he did not believe the person he was messaging was a 13-year-old girl, but that she was a woman playing out a fantasy online, which he indulged. He also denied that the arranged meeting would involve any sexual activity.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Marc Thompson from the CPS said: “Francois Olwage had every intention of grooming and meeting a 13-year-old girl. He denied any sexual interest in children, yet the evidence we presented was strong enough for the jury to be sure he was guilty.
 
“Olwage’s messages made it clear he believed he was in contact with a child. Despite this belief, he exchanged messages about sexual acts, and was grooming her. On the day he planned to meet with his victim, he abandoned his police duties to pursue sexual gratification from someone he believed to be a child.
 
“No actual children were in danger, but it has given us a glimpse into what this man is capable of doing when he thinks he can rely on the anonymity of the internet. This is made all the more serious because he has broken the trust of the public he has sworn to protect.”

Notes to editors

  • Francois Olwage (D.O.B. 04.04.1970) was convicted of the following offences at Winchester Crown Court on 14 April 2022:
    • Attempted sexual communication with a child
    • Attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity
    • Meeting a child following sexual grooming
  • The judge directed a not guilty verdict on a count of arranging or facilitating commission of a child sex offence.
  • Olwage pleaded guilty to corrupt or other improper exercise of police powers and privileges at the same court on 11 April 2022.
  • He was sentenced to five and a half years in prison at the same court on 27 April 2022. 
  • At the time of his arrest, he was a serving detective constable in the Metropolitan Police Service.
  • Marc Thompson is a Senior Crown Prosecutor and Rape and Serious Sexual Offences specialist for CPS Thames and Chiltern.

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