Cliftonville pest Christopher Lewis jailed for sending sex texts to young girl
by Paul Hooper
Child sex pest Christopher Lewis was warned off sending
inappropriate texts to a young girl by her angry mother.
But the 30-year-old jobless chef ignored the advice and carried
on "sexting" with the youngster.
Now the father-of-two, of Surrey Road, Cliftonville, who had
denied inciting a child to engage in sex and arranging to meet the
child for sex purposes, has been jailed.
He claimed he had been "set up" – but a jury at Canterbury
Crown Court rejected his account and found him guilty on both
charges.
The teenager's mother had sent him a message saying: "Stop
texting my daughter. It's all wrong what you are putting in the
text messages to her.
"If you don't stop doing this I'm going to get in touch with the
police."
But Lewis carried on until he was arrested and has now been
jailed for 18 months.
The judge, Recorder Alexander Milne QC, told him: "You made
regular contact with this child and you did so knowing she was
vulnerable teenager who would be flattered by the attentions of an
older man.
"Each time you turned the subject of conversation to sex – and
you continued
"He is, in effect, finding it a very severe punishment in prison and he has been subjected to a certain amount of bullying..." – Pamela Brain, defending
even when
you were properly warned off by her mother."
Pamela Brain, defending, said Lewis had found it hard to adapt
while being in prison awaiting sentence.
"He is, in effect, finding it a very severe punishment in prison
and he has been subjected to a certain amount of bullying."
She also claimed his partner had been kicked out of their flat
because of the case.
"She now lives rough and has herself been subjected to
assaults."
But the judge said throughout the trial, Lewis had been
"self-pitying and self-justifying" and had shown "a complete
lack of insight or any real understanding of the effects of
his victim or her family".
He said Lewis's activities amounted to "sexual grooming" –
adding: "But I will not dwell on what might have happened had this
gone further."
20/11/12
- Click here for more news from across the county...