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Spanish Supreme Court upholds 138-year sentence for British paedophile teacher
Ben David Lewis changed his name in the UK after a child pornography conviction before moving to Spain
The Spanish Supreme Court has upheld the 138-year prison sentence handed down to Ben David Lewis, a British citizen who was convicted of abusing children in Zaragoza and Madrid in May last year.
The 31-year-old school teacher received a two-year suspended sentence for possessing child pornography in the UK in June 2016 but by August that same year, he had changed his name to Ben Rose and so wasn’t flagged as a sex offender when he fled to Spain.
From St Albans, Lewis flew to Zaragoza where he began working as a childminder, before another move to Madrid where he again got a job as a nanny for two young children. Before long, the paedophile was employed as an English teacher at a private school.
During the course of the investigation, officers discovered dozens of photos of students on his phone, many as young as six years old. He had also distributed naked pictures of three young children on the dark web during his time working as a nanny in Zaragoza.
Lewis was convicted of a number of crimes last year, including owning and sharing child pornography, the disclosure of secrets and a crime against moral integrity. His appeal against the 138-year sentence was rejected by the Spanish courts on Friday May 12.
Numerous child protection charities, including The Safeguarding Alliance, are appealing to the UK government to prevent such serious offenders from changing their identities with so much ease.
“Existing laws are enabling offenders to work around the system, free to obscure their identity without being monitored,” the charity has said.
In response, the Home Office has assured that “the government is working with a range of partners to disrupt those who travel overseas to abuse children and bring justice to victims and survivors”.
In other news: Right-wing Spanish politician arrested for drug trafficking
Image: Freepik
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