ORLANDO, Fla. – An Orlando man was sentenced to life in prison for using the internet to sexually exploit the 12-year-old daughter of one of his friends, according to a release from the Department of Justice. The Orlando Police Department said it’s the “highest sentence for a Sex Crimes Case” that its detectives have worked on.
In January 2021, court records show 37-year-old Andre Lewis began a Snapchat conversation with the child, did not reveal his identity and claimed he was 20 years old.
Lewis expressed an interest to meet with the child for sex, even though the girl told him “she was just a little girl.” Lewis still persisted.
The child reportedly sent him several text-based and audio messages making it very clear she was “very sacred and distressed” and pleaded with her to leave her alone.
Court officials said Lewis threatened to tell the child’s parent about their Snapchat conversation unless she did what he told her and “provided evidence that he knew the child’s parent, to underscore his ability to carry out his threats.”
The child gave in, out of fear, and reportedly live-streamed a sexually explicit video of herself at his demand.
Prior to the case, investigators learned Lewis had communicated with dozens of other children about sex.
“With respect to seven individuals who specifically told Lewis to leave them alone, Lewis responded by threatening to kidnap, rape, and kill them if they did not cooperate. In other instances, Lewis accompanied such threats to minors with a picture of a handgun and magazines, and a map of the minors’ location, to prove that he actually knew where they were,” the DOJ said in a news release.
Lewis was also previously convicted of issuing written threats to kill or do bodily injury.
Lewis pleaded guilty on Aug. 15, 2022.