WILLERBY ELECTRICIAN PATRICK LEWIS PLEADS GUILTY TO CHILD SEX OFFENSES IN HULL

In November 2012, a disturbing case emerged involving Patrick Lewis, a 54-year-old electrician from Willerby, who engaged in heinous online predatory behavior targeting young girls. Lewis, who was pretending to be a teenage boy, used the social networking platform Teenchat to lure and manipulate two schoolgirls, aged 13 and 14, into a series of dangerous and illegal exchanges.

Under the guise of a teenage persona, Lewis successfully convinced the girls to pose naked for him. His coercive tactics escalated when he threatened to distribute the explicit photographs to the girls' social media contacts if they refused to perform sexual acts for him. This manipulation and intimidation caused significant emotional distress to the victims, with one girl confiding in her mother about the abuse.

The mother of the girl expressed her anguish during a victim impact statement read aloud at Hull Crown Court. She stated, “My daughter has been magnificent through this, I am very proud of her. I want Lewis to know how his actions have affected our loving family. His actions have affected us in the worst possible way.” The trauma inflicted by Lewis’s actions left a lasting impact on the family, disrupting their sense of safety and well-being.

Further distress was revealed when the girl’s father, a soldier serving in Afghanistan at the time, shared his feelings of horror and inadequacy. He said, “What she has been through has horrified me. It has made me feel inadequate as a father and almost brought me to the edge. I was only able to comfort her for a month before I had to go away on another tour of duty. This will never go away and will always be in my mind.” His account underscored the profound emotional toll that the incident had taken on the family.

Law enforcement investigations uncovered additional disturbing evidence when detectives seized Lewis’s computer. They discovered that he had targeted another young girl, using her images to create indecent films. Lewis, who resides on Eden Rise in Willerby, had amassed thousands of indecent images, including photographs of children as young as two years old. The material found on his device included not only images of girls but also indecent images of young boys, highlighting the extent of his depravity.

Lewis faced multiple serious charges, including three counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, producing and distributing indecent movies of children, and possessing indecent images of minors. His guilty plea was entered during the court proceedings, bringing to light the full scope of his criminal behavior.

During the hearing, Lewis’s barrister, Mark McKone, provided context for his client’s mental state, revealing that Lewis had been suffering from depression and was consuming four bottles of wine daily. McKone explained, “He was off work through depression and was spending long periods of time alone and on his computer.” This insight aimed to shed light on the circumstances that may have contributed to his actions.

Judge Michael Mettyear, the honorary Recorder of Hull and the East Riding, presided over the case and decided to defer sentencing until the following week. The judge issued a stern warning to Lewis, emphasizing the likelihood of a custodial sentence. He stated, “At the moment, I see absolutely no way I could suspend a sentence. It is an inevitable custodial sentence, and you should come back expecting to go to prison.” The gravity of the crimes committed by Lewis underscores the serious approach taken by the court in addressing this case of child exploitation and abuse.