SWCCrape – Write-thru – By Adam Dutton
A “predatory” actor who appeared in Netflix’s Sex Education has been jailed for 15-and-a-half years after being convicted of sex crimes against women and children.
Alexander Westwood, who also starred in BBC’s Doctors, was found guilty of 26 sex offences – including raping a teenage girl during acting classes.
The 24-year-old actor was found to have committed a string of depraved sex offence dating back to when he was just TEN.
A court heard Westwood forced pupils in his drama class to read Shakespeare and engage in role-play scenarios naked.
He also filmed one aspiring actress naked on his iPad, before trying to bill her family for £18,000 when she started missing his lessons after he sexually abused her.
The warped sex offender also would create sick ‘game shows’ with children, forcing them to watch pornography and undress.
Westwood, who starred in 17 episodes of Netflix’s Sex Education, was described as a “supreme manipulator” who used his stardom to prey on victims “out of habit”.
He was convicted at Wolverhampton Crown Court in December and jailed at the same court today (Tue) to spontaneous applause from the public gallery.
He will spend four years on licence after he is released, was given a 26-year restraining order from all his victims and a sexual harm order for the same amount of time.
Westwood, of Albrighton, Shrops., was already remanded in custody before the hearing after breaking the conditions of his bail.
Sentencing, Judge Neil Chawla said Westwood had used his minor celebrity status to prey on “impressionable and innocent girls.”
He said: “You used your minor celebrity status as an actor to prey on impressionable, innocent and naïve young girls
“Throughout your trial your nonchalant attitude bordered on arrogance.
“However the jury rejected your denials and rejected your story of blaming the victims, and rather found that in fact, as the prosecution stated, that you are a serial predator and that sexual offending became part of your lifestyle.
“I thought long and hard about bail but as an act of mercy for your parents, you were expected to stay at your home address.
“You were found last week in a hotel in clear breach of the terms of your bail so mercifully provided by this court.
“One of your victims said she felt dehumanised. Another said how she felt dirty just doing the most mundane things.
“This is the horrifying, lasting effect on the victims of what you did – your sordid sexual criminality.
“The lead offence is rape, you were supposed to be teaching her, you were paid. This is an abuse of trust.
“I must sentence you for a multitude of sexual offending over a decade of your life. You have shown no remorse and remain a danger to the public.
“The jury have exposed you as both a predator and a manipulator.”
Prosecutor Andrew Wallace KC said ‘sexual predator’ Westwood could have been charged with 77 serious sexual assaults but for ease of sentencing they had been reduced to 26 counts.
His trial heard how he sexually abused one girl multiple times, also abused a boy and raped a teenage actress.
The first of the 26 sex offences relates to his tenth birthday – the age at which criminality begins in the UK – when one victim was aged just six.
Westwood, who had a “fascination” with pornography, also forced a girl to drink his urine during a seven-year campaign of abuse.
Mr Wallace said: “Following a lengthy trial the defendant was found guilty of a catalogue of crimes and is therefore not subject to any credit.
“In fact he called his victims liars in a pre-sentence report, which is regrettable.
“He is the product of poor parenting and pornography. He was watching pornography on his father’s laptop before the age of 10.
“The pre-sentence report shows the defendant regularly showed totally inappropriate sexualised behaviour at a young age.
“He is a serial sexual predator, particularly targeting children. Four of his victims were children at the time. This is abuse on a huge scale.
“He could have been sentenced to 77 serious sexual assaults, but that would have been unwieldy to sentence.
“It is worrying how much planning went into this offending, none of which have become remorse. He went to so much effort which is very worrying.
“He would not have been to able to commit some of these crimes unless he had set himself up as a teacher, which is a breach of trust.
“He is a significant risk to the public. He has a flagrant disregard for his victims.”
Earlier his victims bravely took the stand to reveal the pain he had caused them and how he had ruined their lives.
Westwood, dressed in a grey suit, smirked in the dock before the hearing as some of his victims held hands offering support to one another.
Three young women took it in turns to read their victim impact statements to the court in front of a packed public gallery and their former tormenter in the dock.
One victim, who suffered over seven years of abuse totalling 36 assaults, told the court: “I have a reoccurring nightmare Alexander Westwood is standing above me.
“I wake up every time. I am scared on public transport in case I see him. I have anxiety at work because he knows where it is.
“As a child I was violated my life. I self harmed because I hated myself.
“Instead of taking it out on someone else I took it out on myself.”
The mother of one of the victims told the court: “My son said ‘the court system scares me. I do not want to see Alexander ever again. When I am alone I worry about it’.”
Another victim cried as they said “My relationships are suffering, I am untrusting in relationships. I worried if I had married him and had children could I have kept them safe?
“Alexander is a very manipulative person and has no remorse on his part. I feel like he has ruined my life.
“I feel it is something I can not fix. I will have to live with this for the rest of my life.”
She sobbed as she added finally: “He has ruined my life and other peoples lives and he does not care about people.”
Another victim, who Westwood raped during acting classes, said: “I hate taking a shower, I hate having to touch my body to wash.
“No matter how long I wash, I still feel dirty. As soon as I get in, I want to get out.
“I despise everything to do with acting when it was all I wanted to do. I started to despise men.
“During secondary school when the abuse was happening I could not see a point of living.”
Talking through the tears, she added: “I have hated myself and hate everything. Because of him.”
James Bloomer KC, defending, said: “This defendant is a young man and these crimes happened when he was even younger.
“He also will lose his acting career forever.”
