Former UF Student Begins Serving Eight Year Prison Sentence

Last week, Nathan Christopher Lewis, 21, was placed into the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) to begin serving an eight-year prison sentence. Lewis was attending the University of Florida at the time of his arrest.

Last month, Lewis entered an open no contest plea on 21 charges relating to the possession of child sexual abuse material and online child solicitation. This gave Judge James Colaw full discretion on sentencing. 

The Gainesville Police Department (GPD) published an announcement after Lewis’ arrest in November 2024, stating the following: 

“On Thursday, November 7, 2024, the [GPD] Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Division, with the assistance of GPD SWAT, served a search warrant at 710 SW Depot Ave, APT 234. The investigation was prompted after GPD received a Cyber Tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The Cyber Tip indicated that a Snapchat account holder distributed sexually explicit images to a minor child.

The investigation by [GPD] Detective Montague... revealed that the likely account holder was Nathan Lewis (W/M, 09-11-2004) who resides at the listed location. Detective Montague conducted legal process which revealed that Lewis was communicating with a number of minors, six of which he distributed or and or received sexual content from. 

During a post Miranda interview, Lewis advised that he no longer has Snapchat because it was a 'huge distraction.' Lewis admitted to being the owner of the suspect Snapchat account as well as the author of the chats. Lewis stated that he was severely depressed and lonely, during the spring academic semester, and that he just wanted to talk to anyone and have an interaction.

Lewis initially stated that he knew he chatted with fifteen and sixteen-year-olds, but not any younger than that. When advised that there was evidence he chatted with numerous people who identified as thirteen, fourteen, fifteen and sixteen, Lewis again reiterated he went through a ‘rough’ time during spring semester.”

Lewis was released in December 2024 after posting a $150,000 bond.

Court records show Lewis was initially facing 11 charges but prosecutors later filed more charges.

After Lewis pleaded, but before his sentencing, his lawyers submitted a memorandum in support of downward departure, i.e., a lighter sentence than the mandatory minimum. The memo began by emphasizing the results of Lewis’ psychosexual evaluation finding his risk to the community is “negligible.”

The memo states Lewis’ parents now realize they “failed their son” because they did not notice his “budding depression” after enrolling as a freshman at UF. 

The memo states, “Nate's senior year of high school and freshman year of college saw him consistently ill with conditions of one sort or another. From severe colds to ear infections and a dangerous poison ivy bout that became infected, antibiotics became a fact of life. Struggling to cope as a UF freshman, alone, sick, and seeking solace and stress relief, Nate turned to an escape that seemed like safe sex—solo and with virtual mates. He had done this before, sending and receiving nudes over Snapchat with age appropriate people, just like millions of teens; making connections that were anonymous and unthreatening; masturbating to images of strangers who sent their own photos and videos to Nate. When the stress amped up and mental health challenges emerged, that safe sex turned perilous. At 19, he started messaging with younger teens who had no qualms about sexting with a college boy. This lasted for a short time, about two months. For Nate it was a way to escape undiagnosed persistent depression, a way to connect with strangers, and a dopamine hit that gave him the only pleasure he could find.”

The age of consent in the State of Florida is 18. Under Romeo and Juliet laws, individuals aged 16-17 are legally able to consent to sexual activity with an individual of Lewis’ age, but the press release indicates a number of his victims were 13-15, which doesn't fall within those laws.

The memo states that in the past, Lewis would immediately “unfriend” someone underaged, but a “desperation for relief betrayed him.”

The memo states that during his teen years, Lewis “seemed self-centered and burdened by the demands of living in the family home. He kept a deep secret from everyone. When he retreated to his room and locked the door throughout his teens, he often would surf porn sites for hours and masturbate. He discovered chat rooms where he could watch others do the same and let them view him. Nate's family thought him pathologically uncaring and angry. But it wasn't that at all. The painful existence fed his obsession with sex and devolution into internet porn and sexting. Accepted to UF, he could not wait to leave. His parents looked forward to that day as well, believing it would free Nate to be his own person without their constraints and would give their home some peace. The tension in the home was palpable, and sending Nate to college would reset life for the whole family. That’s not the way it worked out.” 

The memo goes on to call Lewis a "changed person" because he "found a doctor to prescribe proper medications for his mental health issues, entered sex offender treatment a year ago, and connected with a therapist who has helped him implement the skills he has learned…"

According to the memo, Lewis had a hard time finding a business that "would employ a young man with pending felonies," but he found work at a local auto repair shop. There he met a 23-year-old woman who he reportedly started dating. The memo states she "became his girlfriend and a passionate supporter, despite her many initial doubts."

The memo states, "Once getting his mental health and coping skills on track, Nate has started to become the person his parents had tried to raise. He is becoming a doting brother, a caring son, a thoughtful boyfriend, and an integral part of a work staff. But he now risks having his life defined and derailed by a small window of time when he was searching for meaning and relief from the pain of living."

The memo argues, "Social media companies are embroiled in lawsuits over juvenile use for a reason. The apps are tempting, addictive, and easy to use. Social science studies are emerging, but anecdotal evidence would shock the majority of adults if they knew the prevalence of young people sharing intimate photos and videos with strangers. Anyone who grew up with a cellphone is likely to have sent and received sexts, both still images and videos. Twelve- and thirteen-year-olds are doing it, with some considering it part of the modern 'dating' process. The traditional crime of possession of child pornography has morphed because of this. We are used to seeing people who produce, search for, collect, and distribute child sexual abuse material. Those descriptions of prepubescent children being raped and forced to perform sex acts on each other are undeniably sickening. But Nate Lewis's crime is not that. Just as the Florida legislature is in the process of changing the statutory language from ‘child pornography’ to [child sexual abuse material], there is an explosion of child porn cases that include no sexual abuse whatsoever, such as this one. The images and videos Nate possessed are from teenagers who took selfies and shared them. That said, it's a crime because of the ages of the teens…”

When combining the statutory maximum of Lewis' charges, he faced a sentence of well over 100 years in prison.

Court records show that Lewis' "lowest permissible prison sentence," absent a downward departure, was roughly 19 years, showing the memorandum was successful to a certain extent.

On March 12, 2026, Colaw sentenced Lewis to eight years in prison followed by ten years of sex offender probation. 

As of the most recent report, Lewis is at the FDC Reception and Medical Center awaiting transfer to a permanent facility. He is scheduled to be released from prison on February 17, 2034.