Andrew Lewis

Drew's Polk County mugshot

"*I'm in handcuffs. I got the picture pretty well how it looks.*"
―Drew during his interview with Chris Hansen
**Andrew "Drew" Lewis** is a suspected predator involved in the **Polk County, Florida** sting of Takedown with Chris Hansen. He is known for his calm, silent demeanor during his interview with Chris Hansen, as well as the death stare he gave Hansen before abruptly ending the interview.

## Biography

Drew was a twenty-five-year-old audio-visual technician at the time of the Polk County sting. What Perverted Justice would call a "fast mover", he initiated contact with a police decoy on a social media chat site posing as a fourteen-year-old boy. Drew said he was "bored" and almost immediately asked the decoy to "come thru" to his apartment. The decoy then indirectly made their age known to Drew, stating he wouldn't get his driver's license for another two years. Drew followed up by asking the decoy if he wanted to "chill" and "maybe fuck." The decoy then admitted that they were fourteen. Drew acted shocked at first, but quickly followed this up by asking if the decoy was home alone. When the decoy said he would be until midnight, Drew offered to come over "rn" (right now), stating the decoy's age was "fine." Drew's chat then became very graphic, with Drew telling the decoy he was "pretty big" and that he wanted to "bend [him] over", before proceeding to tell the decoy he would go "very slow" and "stroke [him] slow." After telling the decoy it would only take him thirty minutes to get there, he claimed he didn't chat or arrange hook ups with minors often, but that the decoy should "try to oil [his] ass" as a form of lubrication.

As Drew approached the fake address given to him, the police went into high speed in order to catch up to and pull him over. The police were overly aggressive with Drew, ordering him to put his vehicle in park and get out the passenger side, with another officer contradicting the command by barking at Drew to raise his hands. Drew acted confused but tried reasoning with the officers by lowering his window, asking them how he was supposed to unlock the door and raise his hands at the same time. One of the officers threatened to shoot Drew if he didn't comply. Once Drew finally unlocked the passenger side door, he was dragged out onto the floor outside and put in handcuffs. In his vehicle, the police found a condom on the driver's seat and a loaded handgun.

After being interrogated by detectives, Chris Hansen was granted permission to interview Drew in the interrogation room. Drew was hesitant at first, claiming he "wasn't sure" how he got into this situation, as well as telling Hansen it was his first time having a graphic online chat with a minor. When Hansen attempted to dismiss his claim by asking Drew how many times he thought he'd heard that, Drew said he "didn't know" about the other "fellas" Hansen had interviewed, but denied being "that type of fella", as well as vehemently denying he was a predator when asked if he thought he was. He classed his actions as a "serious mistake" and said he wasn't perfect, as well as telling Hansen he understood how it looked because he was sitting in a police station with handcuffs. When Hansen tried to get more out of Drew by asking what his intent was, Drew refused to answer the question, quickly following this up by telling Hansen he didn't want to answer any questions he had already been asked by detectives. Hansen did not relent, however, and continued to read from the chat log, which resulted in Drew giving what Hansen called "the silent treatment." After Hansen read a few more graphic lines from the chat and remarked it didn't sound like someone who was doing this for the first time, Drew gave Hansen a death stare before finally asking if he "gotta do this." When Hansen told Drew he didn't have to be interviewed, Drew said he was "good on this" and requested to be taken back to his cell, not giving Hansen a proper chance to reveal he was involved in a television investigation.

## Aftermath

Drew was charged with three felonies: Traveling to Meet a Minor, Attempted Lewd Battery on a Child, and Unlawful Use of a Two-Way Communication Device. He was also charged with two misdemeanors: Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and was given a pre-trial hearing on January 17th, 2023.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd remarked that, although the handgun could've been for personal safety, it could also have been used by Drew to dispose of his only witness to the sex crime he was prepared to commit, calling him (as well as other predators) "sickened" and "deviant."