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PROVO — A BYU student was charged with seven felonies Monday for allegedly trying to initiate a sexual encounter with someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl.
Nicholas Randy Lewis, 25, of Provo, is charged in 4th District Court with five third-degree felony counts of dealing in harmful material to a minor and two counts of enticing a minor — one count also being a third-degree felony and the other a second-degree felony.
Provo police arrested Lewis on Wednesday, alleging he chatted online with an undercover officer for a span of more than six months, believing she was a 13-year-old girl. Lewis sent more than 10 nude images of himself to the officer's disguised profile during that time, court documents say.
"The defendant asked the (undercover) officer to have video sex chats with him," the charges state.
Lewis allegedly arranged two encounters as a result of the online conversations.
"Both meetings fell through, but the defendant continued to try and set up additional meetings," the charges state.
Lewis also said in the chats that he wanted to bring the girl to his home when his wife wasn't there, according to a Utah County Jail statement.
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BYU student arrested for alleged enticement of 13-year-old
A BYU student, husband and father has been arrested for investigation of attempting to entice someone he believed was a 13-year-old girl for sex in conversations that detailed encounters with other underage girls, police said.Lewis allegedly said in the online chats that he had experienced sexual encounters with multiple children under the age of 13. At one point in the conversations, police say, he asked for the online user name of the fictional 13-year-old girl's friend.
"Due to the defendant's attempt to find and meet another child for sexual purposes, police saw him as an immediate threat to the community" and moved quickly to arrest him, court documents say.
Lewis bailed out of the Utah County Jail on Friday. His initial hearing in 4th District Court is set for Tuesday.
State and federal court records indicate Lewis has no prior criminal history in Utah.
