In 2019, the Offender Database reported that Lewis West, then 37, of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, was convicted at court following an investigation into his predatory behaviour. Lewis West, who was staying in Ottery St. Mary, Devon, at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty to multiple serious charges, including meeting a child following sexual grooming, sexual communication with a child, and the possession of indecent images.
The court heard that Lewis West groomed what he believed was a 14-year-old girl through highly explicit sexual chat, which included the transmission of indecent images of himself. In February 2018, Lewis West arranged to meet the child outside the VUE cinema in Exeter, parking his works van nearby before hiding in a hedge opposite the venue to monitor the girl’s arrival via text message.
After several minutes of surveillance, Lewis West emerged from his hiding spot. He approached the cinema entrance, where he was intercepted by adult members of the “UK Database” paedophile hunting team. The team, who pose as children online to catch predators, informed Lewis West that the child did not exist and that he had been communicating with an adult decoy.
During the confrontation, Lewis West admitted to law enforcement and the decoys that he had engaged in sexual communications with multiple underage girls online and confessed to possessing indecent images on his mobile phone. He further admitted that his intention for the meeting in Exeter was to have sexual intercourse with the child inside his work van, which was subsequently seized by the police as part of the criminal investigation.
Lewis West had initially been scheduled to stand trial on February 8, but entered guilty pleas to all counts, including inciting a child into sexual activity. Consequently, the trial was vacated, and Lewis West was remanded in custody to be sentenced on February 10, 2019, where he faced mandatory placement on the sex offenders register.
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