A man who came to Stockport posing as a fourteen year old in order to groom a child has been jailed for over nine years
Terence Raymond Lewis aged 36 of Bolton Street, Blackpool had earlier this yearpleaded guilty to 19 counts of child sexual offences including one count of meeting a child following online grooming, one count of abducting a child, two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, four counts of causing a child to watch a sexual act, five counts of sexual activity with a child, and six counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.
He was apprehended when a hotel receptionist alerted police in Stockport that an older man had checked in with a young girl, and it seemed suspicious.
Police were immediately at the scene and were able to arrest Lewis, and ensure the young girl was appropriately safeguarded and supported by specialist partner agencies. Following his arrest, he was charged with three offences and remanded to prison.
Lewis heinously groomed the 14-year-old girl over an online children’s chat forum, starting when she was just 11 years old, where he concealed his true identity, posing as a 14-year-old, using another child’s photographs under a false name.
An investigation was launched by our specialist safeguarding officers and the true extent of his offending was uncovered. After reviewing tens of thousands of text messages, police recovered thousands of images from his mobile devices and he was further charged with 16 additional offences.
In this case, the victim felt unable to fully disclose the abuse Lewis subjected her to, but our relentless officers pursued him regardless, and despite this being a victimless prosecution, we were able to bring Lewis to justice for his deplorable crimes.
Police Constable Kenneally from our Stockport’s Child Protection Investigation Unit, said: “Throughout our investigation Lewis has shown himself to be a narcissistic, callous predator. His sentence today reflects the severity of his offences, and the significant trauma and abuse he subjected the victim to.
“I hope his sentence sends a clear message to other offenders that they will be caught and put before the courts, we hope that it encourages other victims of sexual offences to come forward and report them to us”.
