UPDATE: Michael S. Lewis Sentenced To 100 Years To Life In Prison

April 9, 2013



A Batavia man is on trial in Ontario County Court for 335 counts of sex abuse.

Michael Lewis, 41, is alleged to have raped victims in an East Bloomfield apartment where he lived.

Our sister station WROC reports those incidents occurred from April 2010 to November 2011 and included assaults on two girls who were 12  and 13 years old at the time. Eight of the charges against Michael Lewis are predatory sex abuse

The indictment is lengthy, reportedly 82 pages long.  Two other children are alleged to have witnessed some of the attacks and may testify at the trial.

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April 11, 2013

Michael Lewis is charged with 335 counts of sexual abuse. More than 100 counts are tied to the first victim, who testified Wednesday.

During cross examination defense attorney Bob Tucker asked for specifics, things like what she was wearing, what time of day it was, and if Lewis used protection. He says his job is to make sure the prosecution meets the burden of proof for each charge. Tucker spent hours on the questioning for the 172 times the girl claims Lewis raped her, "there are certain days where time schedules become important and I think as we get through this and the rest of the proof comes in we'll bring that to the attention of the jury," said Tucker.

Prosecutor Jim Ritts says the case against Lewis is strong and his witnesses will prove that, "she was clear, she was unequivocal about what days this happened," explained Ritts, "and I don't think there's a time line that needs to be established, I think that she did that, and then it will be corroborated by some of the work records, most of the work records, and a few other things that will be coming up."

Wednesday, the girl testified Lewis raped her just before she turned 13 in April 2010. She says Lewis asked her to go to the basement of their town home with him, saying he wanted to show her something. She told the jury, "I tried to get away from him. He got a tight grip on me and I couldn't move."

She also testified Lewis made her ask for birth control, "Michael forced me to go on birth control. I didn't want to. He told me to lie to the doctor and say I was having sex with a 14 year old."

Tucker plans to continue his careful line of questioning throughout the trial, "each count is distinctly separate and I think something needs to be on the record as to each and every count." Ritts says the victims will hold up on the stand, "it's unfortunate that the other victim is going to talk about 4 months but fortunately it was only four months so it won't be nearly as tedious."

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April 15, 2013

Ontario County Court, Canandaigua, NY--Over the course of several hours, Michael Lewis testified that he never sexually abused, nor did he have sexual contact of any kind with his two alleged victims.
"I'm not surprised that he came in and denied this," Prosecutor, Jim Ritts said. "I think when you compare his testimony to that of the girls, they have no interest, nothing to gain. This defendant certainly has everything to lose."
"There's a certain value to look the jurors in the eye and say I didn't do this," said Defense Attorney, Bob Tucker. "That's partly why he wanted to do this. He wanted to tell his side of the story."
His side of the story didn't come without inconsistency.
In fact, he testified that on November 29th, 2011, he and the alleged victims spent the entire day having what Lewis describes as "a Xbox war," at their East Bloomfield townhouse. The problem? It was a school day.
During cross examination, Ritts asked Lewis identify each count on a calendar using the alleged victims first initials.
Ritts said it established a pattern of both when and why they weren't being raped by Lewis.
"There were certain times of the month if you will, that he was opposed to raping them. So, what I had him demonstrate by doing that was that there was those three or four days consistently where he would not have been raping them," said Ritts.
Lewis wasn't the only one to take the stand. The defense also called two character witnesses. Each testified that Lewis acted like a caring adult toward the two girls.
"He loved them," said witness John Collins. Collins has known Lewis for six years and dates Lewis's sister. He testified that Lewis is like a brother to him. "He gave them everything. He stuck up for them when their mom was being mean. He gave them everything in this world."
Both the prosecution and defense will likely agree to combine the 335 counts into 38 charges.
"The goal of course being not to have these people deliberate for 14 days deliberating over 300 counts," Ritts added.
Ritts said that won't affect sentencing if Lewis is found guilty.


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Apr 17, 2013

A former Ontario County man faces a sentence of up to life in prison after he was found guilty Tuesday by a jury on all counts related to repeated sexual assaults he committed against two girls while he lived in East Bloomfield and West Bloomfield.

Michael S. Lewis, 42, of Batavia, was found guilty by a jury in Ontario County Court after the jury deliberated for over four hours Tuesday afternoon.

He was charged last year with 335 counts related to repeated sexual assaults he was alleged to have committed against two girls, who were between the ages of 12 and 14 at the time of the assaults, said Assistant District Attorney James Ritts. He said the sexual assaults against one of the girls began in April 2010, soon after Lewis moved into a home in East Bloomfield with the two girls, who are sisters, and their mother. He said the sexual assaults against the second girl began in August 2011, a few months after they had moved to another home in West Bloomfield.

Ritts said the assaults continued until November 2011, when Lewis moved to Batavia in Genesee County.

Judge Frederick Reed consolidated the 335 counts in the indictment into 38 “representative” counts, of which the jury found Lewis guilty of each one. The counts include eight counts of predatory sexual assault against a child, four counts of endangering the welfare of a child and 26 counts of rape in the first, second and third degrees.

Juror Richard Bley said jury deliberations on Tuesday included much debate, and said it was difficult to get a grasp on all of the charges against Lewis.

“It was a tough, very tough case,” Bley said. “I was actually surprised we got through it in that amount of time.”

Ritts said he is “relieved” with the verdict. He said the strength of the case lied in the testimony of the two girls.

“I’m very happy for the girls,” Ritts said. “Their trust in the system — and their trust in us — paid off.”

In his closing argument Tuesday morning, Lewis’ defense attorney, Robert Tucker, asked the jury to consider why the two girls did not tell anyone about the assaults at the time they were alleged to be occurring and argued that there was a lack of detail in the girls’ testimony.

“There are too many things in this case that just don’t make sense,” Tucker said.

Ritts, in his closing argument, countered that people cannot predict how someone would react in the two girls’ situation.

“Until you survive 20 months of this man raping you ... until you survive that, you can’t apply common sense,” Ritts said.

Sentencing has been scheduled for June 26.

Tucker said he intends to appeal.

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I sure hope he gets LWOP! What a creep!

Am speechless!!

Canandaigua, N.Y. —
For the mother of two girls who were repeatedly sexually assaulted by a man they considered “a father figure,” the sentencing of the man to 100 years to life in prison marks the beginning of a new chapter for her daughters.

“You took back control — control of your lives,” she said to her daughters Wednesday in Ontario County Court. “From this day on, you are survivors. This is your time to move on.”

Michael S. Lewis, 42, of Batavia, was sentenced Wednesday after he was found guilty in April of committing repeated sexual assaults against the two girls while he lived in East Bloomfield and West Bloomfield. He received the maximum sentence for each of the 38 counts for which he was convicted, said Assistant District Attorney James Ritts.

In handing down the sentence, Judge Frederick Reed said Lewis deserved the longest sentence possible because of the “devastating psychological damage” he caused the girls.
“I hope they thrive and get past this,” he said.

“A real-life horror story”
Lewis was indicted in September 2012 on 335 counts related to repeated sexual assaults he was alleged to have committed against the two girls, who were between the ages of 12 and 14 at the time of the assaults, said Ritts.

Ritts said the sexual assaults against one of the girls began in April 2010, soon after Lewis moved into a home in East Bloomfield with the two girls and their mother. He said the sexual assaults against the second girl began in August 2011, a few months after they had moved to another home in West Bloomfield. The assaults continued until November 2011, when Lewis moved to Batavia, Ritts said.

During the trial — which lasted about a week — Reed consolidated the 335 counts in the indictment into 38 “representative” counts. The counts include eight counts of predatory sexual assault against a child, four counts of endangering the welfare of a child and 26 counts of rape in the first, second and third degrees.

The jury found Lewis guilty of all 38 counts.

Prior to Lewis’ sentencing on Wednesday, the mother of the two girls described what had happened to her family as “a real-life horror story.”
“They trusted you,” she said to Lewis. “You stole their innocence, took away their dignity.”
She added that she was proud of her two daughters, who both testified during the trial.

Lewis also spoke before his sentencing and maintained his innocence.
“I can hold my head high and know I didn’t do anything wrong,” Lewis said. “ ... I am not a perfect person, but I will tell you this much: I will not admit to something I didn’t do.”

Lewis’ attorney, Robert Tucker, said he plans to file a notice of appeal, adding, “he still maintains he didn’t do this.”

Speaking up
At Lewis’ sentencing, the two girls also spoke. One of them said that, through counseling, she has “learned that (Lewis) can no longer hurt me or my family.”
“It also taught me that if you have something to say, say it,” she said.
Her sister agreed.
“I think children should definitely speak up,” she said. “No child, no woman, no one should deserve such behavior like that. It is pain. It is torture.”
She added, “They take your power away for a limited amount of time. By speaking up, you can take away their power for the rest of their lives.”

The girls’ message was one that Ritts said he hopes more children hear.
“I want children all around to know that if they do tell, they will be heard,” said Ritts, who is also the advisory committee chairperson for the Child Advocacy Center of the Finger Lakes. “I want children to know that they have the power to have their voices be heard.”
Ritts said, of the two girls, that Lewis “underestimated their bravery.”
“They are strong,” Ritts said. “They are an inspiration. They survived you (Lewis). ... They are going to live their lives free of you.”