William Lewis pleads guilty to Bellarine Rail Trail abduction

A Clifton Springs man who dragged a young girl into bushes on the Bellarine Rail Trail has a long history of sexual offending, with a prosecutor arguing he has “no hope” of changing.

William Lewis of Clifton Springs has been charged with a slew of offences, including abduction or detention of a child for a sexual purpose. Picture: Facebook.

A young girl was able to escape an attack from a serial sex offender on the Bellarine by kicking him “in the nads” after he tried to drag her into nearby bushes.

William Lewis, 54, appeared in the County Court at Geelong on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to three charges: contravening a prohibition order, abducting or detaining a child for a sexual purpose, and knowingly possessing child abuse material.

Crown prosecutor Andrew McKenry told the court Lewis’ nine-year-old victim was walking home from school along the Bellarine Rail Trail at 4pm on June 24 last year.

After Lewis motioned for the girl to come over while he was seated on a bench, she moved to the opposite side of the path.

Lewis pulled down his pants and exposed his genitalia as she passed, before grabbing her arm from behind and pulling her into some bushes.

The girl managed to escape as Lewis pulled her to the ground by kicking him in the groin.

Mr McKenry told the court Lewis was a perpetual danger to the community who had “no hope” of rehabilitation.

He said police identified Lewis through various methods, including a spot of blood left on the victim’s school uniform.

He was arrested on June 28 and police found eight child abuse images on his phone, including one image deemed category one.

The court heard during a “bizarre” police interview, Lewis made admissions and said he let the girl go after she kicked him “in the nads”.

An impact statement written by the victim’s mother described how her daughter had struggled since the crime and “can’t be a normal child anymore”.

During the hearing, Lewis’ history of sexual offending was laid bare, including convictions for indecent assault and a 2006 jail sentence for raping a 15-year-old girl.

Most recently, Lewis had been in court for masturbating in a car and loitering around a boat ramp, attempting to entice 13-year-old girls, the court heard.

The court heard a psychological report spoke of “containment”, describing Lewis as lacking empathy and impulse control, having “dysfunctional deviant cognitions”, poor insight and “more likely than not” meeting the criteria for pedophilic disorder.

The report also stated Lewis had anti-social personality disorder and rudimentary insight into his substance use and its disinhibiting relationship to his offending, elevating his risk of relapsing and future sexual offending.

Judge Michael Tinney said he didn’t think he’d seen a report “casting such a negative light”.

Lewis’ lawyer, barrister Jennifer McGarvie acknowledged the seriousness of the offending, but submitted he had rehabilitation prospects as he had spent periods of time in the community without offending and maintained employment.

Ms McGarvie said Lewis had a disadvantaged upbringing, including a “harsh disciplinarian” father who subjected him to physical and emotional abuse.

She said Lewis had been working and taking courses in custody, and continued to suffer chronic pain since setting himself on fire in 2022.

Mr McKenry said Lewis had “scarred this little girl” and stolen part of her childhood. He noted the incident only ended because of the her actions.

“His hope of rehabilitation is extinguished … there is no hope he will change,” Mr McKenry said.

Lewis will be sentenced on Friday.

Originally published as William Lewis pleads guilty to Bellarine Rail Trail abduction