US man arrested for allegedly downloading child porn at Starbucks cafe

A US man has been arrested for allegedly using free Wi-Fi at a Starbucks to download child pornography.

Robert Dietz, 59, had been monitored for two months by detectives after police received several tipoffs, The Oregonian reports.

Police traced the activity to a Starbucks in downtown Hillsboro, Oregon, where Dietz was arrested on Saturday morning.

The coffee shop is across the street from the town's courthouse.

He now behind bars on charges of encouraging child sex abuse and parole violation.

The lead detective in the case had arrested Dietz for the same crime in 2009, for which he was sentenced to 40 months in prison, Washington County Sergeant Vance Stimler said.

Mr Stimler said it was likely Dietz was using public Wi-Fi in hopes of avoiding discovery.

"It's not as clear as, say, a DUI. There's a lot of extra steps that go into establishing who the suspect is, what they're downloading, ensuring it's intentional, and getting the district attorney involved," Mr Stimler said.

Dietz has been convicted four times since 1996 for a range of child sex offences, including sodomy and failing to register as a sex offender.

Source: The Oregonian