Western Mail

I can’t believe I’m accused of a terrible crime, abuse trial told

- PHILIP DEWEY Reporter philip.dewey@walesonlin­e.co.uk

AFORMER director of a charity for the homeless who is accused of historic child sex offences said he “can’t believe” he has been accused of a “horrendous and terrible” crime.

Peter Lewis, 77, a former member of the trustee board of the Cardiffbas­ed Huggard charity for the homeless, is on trial at Newport Crown Court accused of 16 counts of indecent assault dating back to the 1970s and 80s.

The allegation­s against the defendant involve sexual touching over a period of eight years from when the complainan­t, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was between nine and 17 years old.

The defendant, of Station Road in Llanishen, Cardiff, denies the allegation­s, none of which are related to his former role at the Huggard.

The trial has previously heard evidence from the complainan­t, who said the defendant started to take an interest in her while she was at primary school.

The complainan­t told the court: “The grooming started when I was eight years old and the man had his hands over me from the age of 10 to 17.”

Yesterday, Lewis took to the witness box for the first time to give evidence.

When asked about the complainan­t, he told defence barrister Lucy Crowther QC: “We used to get on well, we were pals really. She used to share things with me about what she used to get up to.”

Ms Crowther asked Lewis about an allegation made by the complainan­t that he sexually assaulted her at his home.

Lewis said: “I was at home because my back had gone. She came around to see me and unfortunat­ely I was literally incapacita­ted that day.

“I was lying on the floor in the lounge and I was drinking with a straw. She came in, I forgot what happened and she disappeare­d.”

When Ms Crowther asked him if anything happened between him and the complainan­t that day, Lewis said: “Only the fact I couldn’t get up off the floor. I couldn’t move and that is the gospel truth. What she has come out with is complete and utter lies.”

The court heard that during the 1990s the complainan­t confronted Lewis and first put the allegation­s to him that he had abused her as a child.

When asked about his reaction to the allegation­s, he said: “[The complainan­t] rang me and that’s when she first accused me of abuse. She said, ‘you abused me when I was a child’ and I was devastated.

“I said, ‘let’s meet up and talk about this’.

“I said, ‘please, please, please tell me what this is about’, and she said ‘forget it’ and she just left.

“I was devastated but relatively speaking I couldn’t do anything because she didn’t tell me anything.”

In her final question to the defendant, Ms Crowther said: “The allegation­s are for many years you sexually abused [the complainan­t], what would you say about that?”

Lewis said: “All I can say is, it’s lies. I can’t believe I’m sitting here today being accused of a horrendous and terrible crime.”

The trial continues.

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