The BBC star accused of paying a teenager to send sexually explicit images could face jail for six months if they are found guilty of the alleged crimes.
According to leading obscenity lawyer Myles Jackman, possessing pictures of a child undertaking sexual acts had a starting sentence of 26 weeks in prison.
The sentence could also increase substantially if they are found to have shared the content.
READ MORE: Inside BBC’s presenter sex pics scandal – why he remains unnamed to stars who denied it
Mr Jackman, who has represented individuals accused of similar crimes, told The Guardian: “Any child under 18 that takes a photo of themselves is manufacturing child pornography, they are in possession of it, and they have distributed it.
(Image: PA)
“Anyone soliciting photographs from someone under 18 has committed a serious raft of offences.”
The age of consent for sexual activity in England and Wales is 16 years old but the law on indecent images treats all under-18s as children.
The Protection of Children Act 1978 prohibits any production, possession, or distribution of images of a sexual nature of children under the age of 18.
(Image: In Pictures via Getty Images)
The unnamed BBC presenter has been suspended following claims that he paid a teenager for sexual pictures
The star is accused of handing the youngster over £35,000 since they were 17 years of age.
In return, he asked the alleged recipient for sordid images.
It was initially reported by The Sun that the allegations had been made against a male member of BBC staff.
The publication has since said that after the claims were revealed the presenter called the young person, who is now 20, twice.
(Image: PA)
He apparently asked what they had done.
And he is also reported to have asked them to ask their mother to “stop the investigation”.
In a statement, the BBC said that it “takes any allegations seriously” and has “robust internal processes in place to proactively deal with such allegations”.
“This is a complex and fast moving set of circumstances and the BBC is working as quickly as possible to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps,” the statement said.
It said the BBC first became aware of a complaint in May.
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“New allegations were put to us on Thursday of a different nature and in addition to our own enquiries we have also been in touch with external authorities, in line with our protocols,” it continued.
“We can also confirm a male member of staff has been suspended.”
Several stars have come forward to make it clear that they are not the BBC presenter, including Rylan, Jeremy Vine and Gary Lineker.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
