BEN LEWIS OF BUSHEY CAUGHT WITH INDECENT IMAGES OF CHILDREN AT LL CAMPS

In June 2016, a disturbing case emerged involving Ben Lewis, a 25-year-old man from Lullington Garth, Borehamwood, who was serving as a director at LL Camps, an activity centre located in Bushey, Hertfordshire. Lewis faced serious allegations related to the possession and distribution of indecent images of young children, which ultimately led to his conviction and sentencing.

Lewis admitted to four charges of downloading or taking indecent images of children during a court hearing. His actions came under scrutiny after a worker at LL Camps, Sandra Vicente, borrowed his phone and discovered explicit images of three- and four-year-old girls. She later described her reaction to the court, stating, “I felt my brain was polluted,” highlighting the profound impact the discovery had on her.

The investigation revealed that Lewis had been involved in the possession of indecent images for several years. Prosecutor Ann Evans told St Albans Crown Court that authorities recovered chat logs, videos, and images from multiple devices associated with Lewis. One particularly disturbing find was a pair of young girls’ knickers on his old laptop, which Lewis attempted to justify by claiming they belonged to his brother. When pressed further, he claimed they were washed by his mother, attempting to deny any inappropriate intent.

Lewis’s criminal activities led to his remand in custody for three months, during which he was also subjected to an eight-month curfew with electronic tagging. His sentencing included a two-year prison term, suspended for two years, along with a requirement to pay £3,000 in court costs. Additionally, Lewis was ordered to register as a sex offender, prohibited from working with or having unsupervised contact with children, and mandated to attend up to 100 days of a community sex offender programme.

Further details of the case date back to April 2016, when images of naked children aged three and four were found on Lewis’s iPhone. These images were discovered by a staff member at LL Camps, who was appalled by the content. The staff member, who was involved in organizing activities at the camp, recounted her shock upon viewing the images, describing them as “polluting” her mind and making her feel sick. The images included photographs taken in changing rooms and on a beach, depicting children in vulnerable situations.

Lewis, who was also a co-owner of LL Camps, admitted to three counts of making indecent images of children and one count of taking such images. During the trial at St Albans Crown Court, prosecutor Ann Evans confirmed Lewis’s guilty plea. Witnesses testified that Lewis had handed his phone and PIN to a staff member so she could play music at a children’s party on August 1 of the previous year. She observed images of children in minimal clothing, including photographs of children’s genitals, which she found deeply disturbing.

Other staff members also saw the images, and the following day, Lewis reportedly discussed the content with a colleague, Tal Landsman, who was also a co-owner of LL Camps. Lewis claimed there was “something disgusting” on his phone and expressed uncertainty about how the images appeared there. However, it was only three days later that the staff member decided to report Lewis to the police after he brought a three-year-old girl from his group into the staff room, claiming he had found her in the toilets and that she had wet herself. Recognizing the severity of the situation, she decided to take action and contacted law enforcement authorities, marking a significant step in addressing the disturbing allegations against Lewis.