GARY LEWIS FROM HADDENHAM SENTENCED FOR SEXUAL ABUSE NEAR CAMBRIDGE

In a case that has shocked the local community near Cambridge, Gary Lewis, a former teacher and football league referee from Haddenham, has been sentenced to a total of two and a half years in prison for serious sexual offenses involving minors.

The incidents date back to 1999 when Lewis was working at a village college close to Cambridge. The full extent of his misconduct only came to light years later, after he was convicted in 2007 for sending explicit images via email to a child. This earlier conviction prompted further investigations that uncovered a disturbing pattern of abuse spanning several years.

According to court proceedings, Lewis, aged 35 at the time of sentencing, had arranged to meet with a 16-year-old student he had been mentoring. The meeting took place in Cambridge after the student had completed his exams. Prosecutor Mara Maciejowski detailed that Lewis picked the boy up from his home, and the two spent time together eating and drinking alcohol. The situation escalated when they returned to Lewis’s residence, where he began to physically and sexually assault the young man despite his protests.

During the incident, Lewis reportedly hugged and touched the boy inappropriately. He then sat on the boy’s chest, attempted to kiss him, and tried to coerce him into performing a sexual act. The victim, who is now 25, managed to break free and fled the house. The trauma from this assault had lasting effects; the victim found it difficult to engage in sexual relations afterward and was anxious about playing football, a sport in which Lewis had officiated at a high level, including Championship matches.

The victim did not report the abuse immediately. It was only after Lewis’s conviction for sending graphic images to a 14-year-old in 2007 that he felt able to come forward. Lewis, residing on Leicester Drive in Haddenham, pleaded guilty to indecent touching and admitted to three similar offenses committed when he was just 14 years old in Bassingbourn. Court records revealed that Lewis had introduced an 11-year-old boy to a sexual 'game' involving mutual touching between 1987 and 1990, when the younger child moved away.

Mrs. Maciejowski explained that the earlier victim, now 31, initially did not understand what was happening but later pushed Lewis away and required counseling in his twenties. The court heard that Lewis’s pattern of grooming and abuse spanned many years, highlighting a disturbing history of predatory behavior.

Nick Doherty, representing Lewis, stated that his client had “lost everything” and emphasized that his guilty plea spared the victims from having to testify in court. However, Judge Jonathan Haworth was unequivocal in his condemnation. He sentenced Lewis to two years in prison for the assault on the 16-year-old pupil, describing it as a grave breach of trust involving the victim and his parents.

In addition, Lewis received a concurrent six-month sentence for his teenage offenses and another six months for the email-related crimes, which would be served consecutively. The judge also made it clear that Lewis had been grooming victims in the past, and he is now permanently barred from working with children. Furthermore, Lewis will remain on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely, ensuring ongoing monitoring of his activities and restrictions on his employment in roles involving minors.