BUS DRIVER MANIPULATED TEEN VICTIM
AWELL-KNOWN bus driver manipulated and abused a vulnerable teenager for his own sexual gratification, a court has heard.
Benjamin Daniel Hewens repeatedly sexually assaulted the girl over the course of a number of months.
The 30-year-old father-oftwo denied the allegations but was convicted following a trial at Swansea Crown Court.
The court heard how Hewens, a well-known bus driver in Carmarthenshire, repeatedly sexually assaulted the girl who was aged under 16 at the time.
In a statement from the victim, which was read to court by prosecution barrister Nicola Powell, the girl described the impact the abuse had on her, and on her family. She said she had been left feeling “dirty and ashamed”, and had lost all feelings of self-worth as a result of what the defendant did to her.
As a victim of sexual offences the girl has life-long legal anonymity.
Benjamin Daniel Hewens, of Orchard Park, Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, had previously been convicted of four counts of sexual assault of a child, and one count of possessing indecent images when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions.
David Elias QC, for Hewens, said his client was a hardworking father-of-two who came from a “good family”, and said the defendant still maintained his innocence.
Judge Catherine Richards told Hewens he had manipulated and abused a vulnerable girl “for your own sexual gratification”. She said the defendant had “devastated” his victim’s young life.
Hewens was sentenced to 14 years in prison. He will serve two-thirds of that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. The defendant will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.