MAN JAILED FOR CHILD SEX ABUSE AS TEENAGER
A Cardiff resident has been sentenced to over four years behind bars after sexually abusing two young girls when he was a teenager.The victims now face serious mental health issues and thoughts of suicide due to the trauma they endured.
Kai Lewis, 29, of Tweedsmuir Road in Tremorfa, was convicted in Cardiff Crown Court on multiple charges, including assault by penetration, causing a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and two counts of sexual activity with a minor.
The court heard that Lewis began abusing his first victim when she was in primary school, while he was in his mid-teens, and similarly molested his second victim during her primary school years when he was in his late teens.
At the time, neither girl recognised the conduct as wrong owing to their young ages.
One discovered the abuse only after receiving sex education at school, while the other realised during a sleepover.
In her victim impact statement, the first girl said the ordeal has had a lasting impact on her life, saying: “I am not going to sit here and say this hasn’t defined my life, it has.
It has ruined my life and changed me as a person.
I have been abused by this man since I was a child and it has shaped the person I am today.
“I was not able to have a normal childhood or teenage years like my friends and it has had an impact on all adult aspects of my life.
I have not been able to form healthy relationships or trust another man in my life.” She detailed suffering flashbacks and multiple suicide attempts, feeling that self-harm was her only escape.
She also reflected on the ongoing trauma, stating: “The image of him still haunts me to this day.
I see his face in all men around me and ask myself if it will ever get better.
I will never be able to get over the abuse.” The second girl described feeling contaminated and scared of all men, not just her abuser.
She mentioned trying to forget her childhood memories, being on antidepressants, struggling with mental health, and contemplating suicide.
She expressed hope that justice had finally been served and looked forward to healing.
The prosecutor noted that the young victims thought Lewis’s behaviour was normal at the time, due to their age, and were unaware that their experiences were abuse.
The police investigations, which involved separate disclosures from each victim, led to Lewis’s conviction despite his denial.
During sentencing, it was noted that Lewis’s offences occurred when he was a minor, and he has a history of a robbery conviction.
The judge sentenced him as if he was under 18 at the time.
Lewis received an imprisonment term of four years and six months.
He also was subject to an indefinite restraining order, sex offender registration conditions, and an eight-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order to protect others and prevent future offences.
