An ex-nurse accused of inventing a VIP Westminster paedophile ring said he initially denied making indecent images of young boys because he was ashamed and in denial, a court has heard.
Carl Beech, 51, told jurors that staying in Sweden and not attending court last summer to face charges related to child abuse material found on his computers was “a stupid mistake”.
He told Newcastle Crown Court he used the name Andersson when he was travelling around Sweden last year as he intended to change his identity and get away from the Beech surname.
The alleged fantasist denies 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one of fraud after telling the Metropolitan Police he was subjected to sadistic sexual abuse by a powerful paedophile ring in the 1970s and 1980s.
Related
The £2m Operation Midland investigation failed to make a single arrest so further inquiries were made into the divorced father’s allegations.
When Northumbria Police raided his Gloucester home, they found images of serious child sexual abuse on his computers, and that he had videoed a child urinating.
He was charged with five counts of making indecent images of children and one of voyeurism, and was due to appear before Worcester Crown Court last July.
Content from our partners
Asked by Collingwood Thompson QC, defending, why he initially told the police he had no idea how the material came to be on his devices, he replied: “Because I was totally ashamed of what I had done. I couldn’t admit it to myself. I was in denial.”
He claimed he was already planning to start a new life in Scandinavia, where his family had links through his grandparents, before the court case started, and explained he bought a house in remote northern Sweden with the intention of running it as a guest house.
Beech said he used different names while travelling there as he wanted to change his identity, explaining: “I wanted to get away from Beech, especially after the press intrusion.”
He could not explain why he used a third, different name from Beech or Andersson, when trying to buy a second property, saying “I don’t know what possessed me”.
Giving evidence from the witness box for a third day on Friday, Beech was asked why he did not come to Worcester Crown Court.
He replied: “Because it was a stupid mistake on my part. I panicked and I was alone.”
Thompson asked how he responded to the overall prosecution claims he had invented the paedophile ring allegations and that “it is all untrue”.
Beech replied: “It is not, it’s something I lived through, it’s something that still affects me today, still causes me problems today.
“I can only report my memories, my own truths and it happened.”
Earlier, he refused to name in court another alleged victim of the supposed paedophile ring who he claimed could corroborate his story, explaining he did not have the childhood friend’s permission.
Beech did say the supposed victim, whom the prosecution allege does not exist, was a Los Angeles-based travel consultant, and that they had met regularly over the years until all contact ceased in 2015.
The prosecution has alleged Beech, known in media reports as “Nick”, invented this person and set up a fake email account in his name to trick detectives into thinking he was real.
Beech also told the court he agreed to meet Tom Watson, the Labour Party deputy leader, in 2014 or 2015 after he was told by the Exaro journalist Mark Conrad “he wanted to talk to me about the experience that I had been through”.
The trial continues.
Picture: Crown Prosecution Service/PA Wire
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
