Locations
Bolton Street, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY1
Description
Terence Raymond Lewis, (10/05/1988) of Bolton Street, Blackpool has been jailed for 9 years and 9 months with an extended 3 year licence period, following a comprehensive investigation by our Child Protection Investigation Unit in Stockport.
On Monday 12 June 2024, Lewis pleaded 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.
On Sunday 7 January 2024, a hotel receptionist alerted police in Stockport that an older man had checked in with a young girl, and it seemed suspicious.
Thanks to the diligence of the receptionist, 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.