Huw Edwards has been handed a six-month suspended sentence after pleading guilty to making indecent images of children.
The former BBC News presenter attended London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court with a suitcase on Monday (September 16) after pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children. The disgraced broadcaster, 63, has admitted to having 41 indecent pictures of children.
He has been issued a six-month sentence, suspended for two by Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring – the sentence includes a sex offender treatment programme and 25 rehabilitation sessions. He told Edwards that his offences are “extremely serious” and that his “reputation is in tatters”.
Edwards had been messaging convicted paedophile Alex Williams on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021, who sent him 377 sexual images. 41 of these were indecent images of children.
(Image: PA)
Most of these, 36, were sent during a two-month period and seven were Category A, the most serious type. Of those images, the estimated age of most of the children was between 13 and 15, but one was aged between seven and nine.
The indecent images that were sent included seven category A, the worst, 12 category B, and 22 category C. The final indecent image, sent in August 2021, was a category A film featuring a young boy.
The man told Edwards that the boy was quite young looking, and that he had more images which were illegal. On February 2 2021, the man asked whether the images of children he was sending Edwards was too young and Edwards replied, telling him not to send any underage images, the court heard.
(Image: PA)
Williams was charged in relation to his WhatsApp chat with Edwards and was convicted of seven offences following an investigation by South Wales Police. He received a 12-month suspended sentence.
At court on Monday, the court heard how Edwards paid paedophile Williams money in exchange for the abusive images of children – and offered a “Christmas gift”. Prosecutor Ian Hope said: “It is clear from the face of the WhatsApp chat recovered that a deal of the chat between Alex Williams and Mr Edwards was sexual in nature.
“It is also clear that Mr Edwards was paying not insignificant sums of money low hundreds of pounds on an occasional basis to Alex Williams which Mr Williams directly asked for on several occasions, as gifts or presents, apparently off the back of sending abusive images to Mr Edwards, about which images they chatted.”
“Alex Williams has stated that the money was more generally to support him at university and amounted to around £1,000 to £1,500. The bulk of the images were sexual images featuring younger-looking adult males, and therefore lawful. However, a significant minority proportion of the images recovered were IIOC. From the WhatsApp Chat recovered a total of around 377 sexual images were sent to Mr Edwards, of which 41 comprised IIOC (just over 10%).”
(Image: PA)
The court heard how Alex Williams asked for a “Christmas gift after all the hot videos”. Hope said Williams offered to send 12 videos in December 2020 and Edwards responded that he could not see the latest batch but “the others were amazing”.
The court heard a new link contained a Category C image of a child aged around 12 to 14 and a Category A image. The prosecutor continued: “Three-quarters of an hour later, Alex Williams again asks for ‘a Christmas gift after all the hot videos’ and Mr Edwards immediately responds ‘What do you need?’.
(Image: BBC News & Current Affairs via Getty Images)
“Alex Williams says he wants some Air Force 1 trainers that cost around £100, and Mr Edwards offers to send him £200.” Williams, from Wales, had also pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing category A, B and C images as well as possessing prohibited images of children. He was sentenced to a suspended 12-month jail sentence at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on March 15.
Williams in August 2021 told Edward that he had “naughty” images, to which Edwards replied “go on”, the court heard, and that the former BBC star again said “go on” after Williams told him the pictures were “young”.
He sent Edwards 377 images, 41 of which were indecent. The court heard how Edwards replied: “Yes xxx,” when he was asked if he wanted sexual images of an individual whose “age could be discerned as being between 14 and 16.” Hope added: “From that chat in December 2020, Alex Williams said that he had ‘a file of vids and pics for you of someone special’.”
The BBC admitted it knew the former BBC News At 10 and Six O’Clock had been arrested in November but continued to employ him for around five months until he left on medical grounds. It has asked Edwards to repay the £200,000 salary he has received since his arrest.
BBC director general Tim Davie said the money should be returned and that the corporation will “explore” the legal process if Edwards refuses. Mr Davie and BBC chairman Samir Shah were questioned by the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee last Wednesday.
Mr Davie said of Edwards’ pay: “We’ve made the formal request, and I can’t go into too much detail, but discussions are under way, but I’ve got no further news, apart from the BBC’s position is clear, the money should be returned, and we made the request.”
Asked if he set a deadline, he said: “I don’t believe we set a deadline… but we do expect to make progress and get an answer.” Mr Shah told the committee that Edwards had “damaged” the BBC’s reputation.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
