Jason Lewis during his sentencing hearing and in a mugshot (Screenshot via WMUR; Weare Police Department)
A New Hampshire man will spend decades in prison, and potentially the rest of his life there, for committing a shocking number of child sex abuse offenses, a judge ruled earlier this week.
Jason Lewis, 40, was sentenced to 32 years to life on Thursday after pleading guilty to dozens of offenses related to child sexual abuse and the creation of child pornography.
He initially faced more than 100 counts related to child sexual abuse.
“I’m not sure I’ve seen a case like this where these kinds of actions were done in a way that escaped the trust of the family and affected so many people,” the judge said. of the case in comments reported by Manchester. WMUR, ABC subsidiary based in ABC.
The investigation into the accused began in June 2021. He was first charged and taken into custody the same month.
The Weare Police Department originally arrested Lewis on 18 counts, including incest, aggravated sexual assault, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, kidnapping/extortion, criminal restraint, systematic sexual assault and endangerment of property. – to be of a child.
Following an objection from prosecutors, Lewis was released on personal bail. He was arrested again in January.
After what Granite State law enforcement called a “complex investigation”, the defendant’s new list of charges has swelled to 105 in total, according to a statement reported by The Telegraph.
The new charges included three dozen counts of possession of child pornography and more than two counts of fabricating child abuse images. He was also charged with additional counts of felony sexual assault, aggravated felony sexual assault and incest.
The secondary investigation involved the WPD, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Goffstown Police Department, Children’s Advocacy Center, Children, Youth and Families Division, County Attorney’s Office of Hillsborough and the New England State Police Information Network.
Lewis knew the victim before the abuse, prosecutors noted during his sentencing hearing, which made the crimes especially painful for the family, WMUR reported. A lawyer for the victims read an impact statement prepared by the child’s family on Thursday.
“It’s been almost two years since my family’s world came crashing down around us since I found out my child was the victim of unimaginable abuse,” the attorney said. “I still can’t understand what happened. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to understand what kind of person does something like that to a child.
The TV station reported that a family member spoke directly to the accused and demanded the harshest sentence possible.
“May justice be done to you, not just in the courts, but also may your conscience make you regret for the rest of your life what you have done,” the child’s family member was quoted as saying.
After the sentencing hearing, prosecutors said the details of the case were “particularly troubling”, WMUR reported.
“I think the sentence was a bit light,” Hillsborough County Assistant District Attorney Steven Gahan added. “However, justice comes in different forms. In this case, the fact that the victim or the family does not have to undergo several trials makes this sentence reasonable in the circumstances.
The accused was immediately handcuffed and taken to state prison after the judge handed down the sentence.
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