Man faces jail for grooming girls

A university student from Lincoln is facing jail after using the social networking site Bebo to groom underage girls for sex.

George McClelland, 25, travelled to meet two teenagers after having sexual conversations with them on the Internet.

Giving evidence at Lincoln Crown Court, he insisted he was simply "depressed and lonely" and only wanted to talk to the youngsters.

But he was found guilty of three charges of meeting a child after sexual grooming.

A jury cleared him of a further similar offence.

McClelland, a student at the University of Lincoln, had already pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing indecent photographs of children.

He was granted bail on condition he does not use the Internet or a mobile phone to contact children under the age of 16.

But Judge Ebrahim Mooncey, who will sentence him later this month, warned: "This is a serious case. Custody is on the cards."

McClelland, now of High Wycombe, Bucks, denied four charges of meeting a child after sexual grooming between March and June last year.

He claimed he had no intention of committing any sexual acts, adding: "Some of the meetings were in the university holidays.

"Many of my university colleagues were away. I spent a lot of time alone on my computer, one of the few forms of social interaction I had."

For more detail on this case, see Tuesday's Echo.