Teenage girl was abused by carer while living in North East home

Lewis Fisher had been warned about his inappropriate relationship with the teenager while she was living in a North East children’s home but failed to heed the advice.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the 28-year-old went into her bedroom and kissed her before engaging in full sexual intercourse with her.

In a victim impact statement, the teenager said he ‘promised her a life of luxury’ and they would move to Canada.

She said: “He literally promised me the world a couple of weeks before it happened.”

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The young girl added: “I was in a place where I should have been safe and cared for but the opposite happened. When I was brave enough to say what had happened, I was believed, nobody in the home believed me.”

Lewis Fisher

Shaun Dodds, prosecuting, said the victim had been taken out on unauthorised trips with the defendant before having sexual intercourse with her.

He said: “She told him that it hurt but he said - ‘it would be fine and to keep her voice down because people might hear’ – it lasted about ten minutes and he hadn’t used a condom.”

Mr Dodds said the defendant told the young girl that if she was pregnant she had to ‘blame it on her boyfriend’.

He said there were elements of grooming as the defendant treated her like a ‘princess’ and buying her expensive gifts, including clothes and a charm bracelet.

The court heard how the defendant had initially denied the allegation but his DNA was discovered in the girl’s bedroom and he admitted his guilt.

Fisher, of Kesteven Road, Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to sexual activity with a child.

Michele Turner, in mitigation, said her client had endured childhood trauma which he had never been able to resolve.

Judge Chris Smith jailed Fisher for five years for the breach of trust when he targeted the vulnerable teenage girl.

He said: “You will never be able to work with children again.”

Fisher was also made subject of an indefinite notification order once he is released from prison to enable the authorities to monitor his behaviour.

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