University chemistry professor who sent sexual Snapchat messages to ‘boy’ avoids jail

Francis Lewis, who didn’t realise he was actually communicating with an undercover police officer, also discussed meeting-up at a hotel with the ‘youngster’ A university chemistry professor who sent sexual Snapchat messages to who he thought was a 14-year-old boy before discussing meeting in a hotel has avoided jail. Francis Lewis’s career was left in tatters after he started communicating with the ‘youngster’, who was actually an undercover police officer. As previously reported on Chroniclelive, a court heard that, despite being told the child’s age, the 49-year-old continued to send explicit messages, talked about meeting in a hotel and discussed the sexual acts they could do together. After two months of contact on Snapchat, Lewis eventually ended their conversations by stating he wanted to wait until the boy was 16, prosecutors said. Lewis, of Croydon Road, in Arthur’s Hill, was arrested and pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child during a previous hearing at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court. His case was adjourned for the preparation of a pre-sentence report and Lewis has now returned to the same court to learn his fate. Magistrates gave the pervert an 18-month community order and told him he must do
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