PREDATOR OFFERED DRUGS TO SOMEONE HE THOUGHT WAS A CHILD AS PART OF RAPE PLAN
A man described as a "sexual predator" tried to meet with someone he believed was a child under 13 for the purpose of sexual assault and rape.He also offered to give the decoy crack cocaine and sent explicit images during their online conversations.
Liam Lewis, aged 31 and from Ferndale, was found guilty of attempting to communicate sexually with a child and trying to arrange or facilitate a child sex offence involving penetration or rape of a person under 13.
During a court hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court, it was revealed that the regional organised crime unit for south Wales, Tarian, identified Lewis after he communicated with someone posing as a decoy child.
Lewis offered to supply the decoy with crack cocaine and encouraged them to engage in penetrative sexual acts.
He also sent sexual videos to the decoy.
Officers executed a search warrant at Lewis’s home in Porth, where he was arrested and subsequently remanded into custody.
The judge, Jeremy Jenkins, sentenced him to three years and nine months in prison.
Additionally, Lewis received a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and is required to register as a sex offender indefinitely.
Following the sentencing, detective constable Isaac Gott from Tarian stated: "Liam Lewis is a sexual predator who preyed on the vulnerability of someone he believed was a child for his own deviant interests...
If your child has an online presence, please make it your business to ensure appropriate security settings are activated, be aware of the applications they use, and be alert that they may be talking to strangers." He added that tackling online child sexual exploitation remains a national priority for UK law enforcement.
Tarian continues to collaborate with agencies across the UK and internationally to protect children and prosecute offenders, promising to relentlessly pursue high-harm individuals and ensure they face justice.
