Locations
Filsham Drive, Bexhill, East Sussex, TN40
Description
Lewis Jackson, of Filsham Drive, Bexhill, East Sussex, has been jailed for 10 years for multiple rapes and a serious sexual assault on teenage girls.
The hairdresser, previously convicted of coercive and controlling behaviour against three girls, denied sex attacks on two victims in East Sussex. At Brighton Crown Court he was found guilty of multiple counts of rape against one girl and a serious sexual assault on another.
Jackson raped a 17-year-old girl on five occasions in 2017, when he was 17, and attacked a 15-year-old girl in 2016. The offences took place between 2016 and 2017. He had already served time for coercive control against both girls (and a third).
Police first received third-party reports about his behaviour in 2017. Initial enquiries revealed three assaults over a couple of months and showed he was controlling other teenage girls. He was arrested, denied the allegations, and was convicted of the controlling offences. During that investigation the two victims disclosed the sexual offences, which were investigated separately and led to the further convictions.
Judge Anne Arnold told Jackson he had forced the victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to relive the trauma in court. She said: “Both the girls have been seriously affected by your offending. As regard the original offences that you also denied, you admitted that you had lied. The jury’s verdict and their conclusion is that you have simply lied again. You have been convicted of rape on no less than 14 separate occasions over the period of four months. In the process, you have put the two victims through the trauma of reliving the events that they may never be able to put behind them.”
The judge weighed the offences against Jackson’s lack of maturity at the time (aged 16 and 17). He will be placed on the sex offenders register.
Detective Constable Sally O’Shaughnessy said:
“The victims are relieved to have been believed but their main concern was to prevent any future behaviour by Jackson. Although this may offer them some reassurance and closure, they both have a long road ahead of them in terms of rebuilding their trust and faith in human nature.”
She urged anyone at risk of physical abuse or sexual exploitation not to “suffer in silence” and to contact police on 101 or report online.