MAN GROOMED VULNERABLE TEENAGER AFTER MEETING THROUGH INSTAGRAM
2019.A man systematically groomed a vulnerable teenage male after reaching out through social media channels.
Lewis Westbrook, using his Instagram profile ‘Littlebooboo15,’ established contact with a 15-year-old boy.
He then persuaded the youth to send an explicit image, promising him a threesome with an older woman as an incentive.
The communication was intercepted when carers reviewed the boy’s phone and discovered the exchanged messages.
At Southampton Crown Court, Westbrook pleaded guilty to one count of sexual communication with a minor and another for inciting a child to take part in sexual acts.
He was sentenced to a two-year term in a young offenders’ institution.
Furthermore, a judge imposed a two-year extended licence period after ruling he was a risk to children.
The court revealed that the initial contact was made through Westbrook’s Instagram account, which boasted around 1,000 followers.
Their conversations covered topics such as parties, vaping, and drug use, before Westbrook introduced sexual topics.
Prosecutor Dan Sawyer explained that Westbrook requested and received an indecent photo from the victim, alongside a video containing adult pornography.
Throughout an extensive online conversation lasting about a day, Westbrook continued to groom the young boy with offers of a sexual encounter involving an older woman.
Mitigating, Mary Aspinall-Miles described the conversation as “fantasy” on behalf of Westbrook.
She said: “This is clearly fantasy.
“For example, he he says to the young man at one point ‘be right back, I’ve got to go to the shop to get some petrol and munch’.
“He hasn’t even got a car.” Ms Aspinall-Miles described her client as having a number of learning conditions, which caused him to be “immature”.
She said that Westbrook was homeless at the time of the offence, in September last year, and was living a “chaotic existence” by sleeping rough in a multi-storey car park in Southampton.
udge Robert Pawson sentenced Westbrook, listed by the courts as of Lionheart Way, Bursledon, to two years’ detention in a young offenders institute.
He also handed down an extended two year sentence, which he will serve on licence.
Judge Pawson said: “I have to decide if you pose a significant risk of causing serious harm to child.
“It is in my view that an extended sentence is necessary in this case to protect the public and protect children.” Two further counts, one of possession of an indecent image and another of inciting a child to view pornography, will lie on Westbrook’s file.
