Former Beulah Elementary Custodian Gets Prison Time for Trying to Lure Child Online

A former custodian at a Pensacola-area elementary school has been sentenced to prison after investigators say he tried to arrange a sexual meeting with someone he believed was a 14-year-old child, but who was actually an undercover law enforcement agent.

Chad Lane Wren, 57, of Beulah, was arrested in October 2025 by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on a charge of soliciting or luring a child to engage in sexual conduct. This week, Wren entered a no contest plea and was sentenced to 36 months in state prison, with credit for 249 days already served. The sentence also includes five years of probation once he is released, along with formal designation as a sexual offender and a court order barring him from any contact with minors.

How the Case Unfolded

According to court documents, Wren believed he was communicating with a 14-year-old and arranged to meet the child for sex. In reality, he was messaging an FDLE agent posing online as a minor. Investigators say Wren's own words made his intentions clear, quoting a text in which he wrote, "I prefer younger."

Wren had also faced additional charges of traveling to meet a child for an unlawful purpose and using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony. Those charges were dropped as part of the case's resolution.

Resigned From School the Day of His Arrest

At the time of his arrest, Wren was employed as a custodian at Blue Angel Elementary School. School records show he resigned from the position the same day he was taken into custody.

Cases like this one are typically the product of online sting operations, in which law enforcement agents pose as children in chat rooms, on social media, or in messaging apps to identify adults attempting to solicit minors for sex. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, along with other statewide and regional task forces, regularly conducts these operations as part of broader efforts to combat online child exploitation.

Under Florida law, individuals convicted of soliciting a minor for sexual conduct face mandatory sex offender registration, which carries long-term restrictions on where they can live, work, and travel, in addition to any prison or probationary sentence handed down by the court.