STEPHANIE LEWIS, EXETER TEENAGER, SENTENCED FOR CHILD INDECENT IMAGES

Stephanie Lewis, a woman now aged 20, was involved in possessing indecent images of children, some of which depicted the most severe forms of abuse against very young children, a court heard. The police acted on intelligence concerning suspicious online activity on platforms such as Google, Instagram, and Snapchat, which led to her arrest at an address near Exeter in February 2022. During the investigation, her mobile phone, USB stick, and other electronic devices were seized from a different residence in Shepton Mallet.

Lewis was detained again in February 2023 after reports that she had uploaded child abuse images to Snapchat. The prosecution described the images as numerous and including the most serious types of abuse.

The court was informed that the court documents listed her as male, but she was referred to as Miss Lewis during the proceedings. Her defense lawyer, Lisa McArthur, explained that her offenses dated back to her youth when she was vulnerable. Miss McArthur also stated that Lewis has autism and ADHD, and she is a neurodiverse young person struggling in a neuro-typical environment. She no longer spends much time online and now mainly watches television.

Lewis, who lives on Monks Road in Exeter, has voluntarily engaged with a child protection charity for behavioral support. A pre-sentence report described her as well-suited for rehabilitation.

The court clarified that, at the time of her offenses, it lacked the authority to impose a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and she was not placed on the sex offender register. The electronic devices were returned to her.

Ultimately, magistrates sentenced her to a 12-month community order, which includes 15 probation sessions and 100 hours of unpaid work. The bench noted that this sentence was a deviation from the usual guidelines due to her lack of prior offenses, her early guilty plea, her age and maturity at the time, and the fact that the crimes occurred some time ago.