A MIDDLE-AGED farmer has been sentenced at Swansea Crown Court after grooming a teenage girl, coercing her into sending intimate pictures and videos.

David Lewis, 50, met the then 14-year-old girl at a farm in August 2021 and later added her on Facebook. Prosecutor Martha Smith-Higgins told the court: “After a few months of messaging, the defendant sent [the girl] a picture of his penis.”

Lewis from the West Carmarthenshire village of Llanboidy, manipulated the girl into sending explicit images, begging her to comply and telling her: “If you loved me, you would send me photographs.” He also sent her £120 over four separate occasions and told her she could live with him when she turned 16.

Explicit videos exchanged on Snapchat

Ms. Smith-Higgins said Lewis sent “five or six” videos of himself masturbating via Snapchat. When he asked the girl to send similar videos, she initially refused, saying she was about to leave home. However, Lewis checked her Snapchat location, discovered she was not going out, and continued to pressure her until she sent a video.

The girl later attempted to deter Lewis by telling him that the police were tracking her phone. Despite this, Lewis persisted, sending her three sexual photos and two explicit videos of himself.

Discovery and arrest

The girl’s mother became suspicious and checked her daughter’s phone, discovering explicit pictures of Lewis. Police were alerted, and Lewis was arrested on July 22, 2022.

During their investigation, officers found deleted photos of the girl on Lewis’s phone and messages where he told her: “Delete all Snapchats. Have police interview” and “Delete your photos.”

Lewis denied any wrongdoing during his police interview, claiming there had been no communication between him and the girl and that there would be no images of her on his phone. However, officers recovered three Category A images – the most severe classification – and six Category C images of the girl.

Court proceedings

Lewis, pleaded guilty to causing a child to watch a sexual act, sexual communication with a child, and two counts of making indecent images of a child.

Hannah George, representing Lewis, told the court that he had no prior convictions and had not reoffended since the incidents. She argued that a suspended sentence was appropriate, stating: “The probation service has assessed that an immediate custodial sentence would have limited impact, as it would not allow Mr. Lewis to complete the rehabilitation courses he desperately needs.”

Ms. George also cited delays in the case coming to court.

Sentencing

Judge Geraint Walters described Lewis’s actions as calculated and predatory. “The reality is that you were grooming her,” he said. “You are 50 years of age and should know better. You knew what you were doing was wrong.”

Lewis was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years. He was also ordered to complete 35 sessions of an accredited rehabilitation programme and 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

He must register as a sex offender for 10 years and is subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the same period. The court also imposed an indefinite restraining order to protect the victim.