PERVERT Huw Edwards is just one of a growing number of online pedophiles who have been spared jail, Sun trials reveal.
His case emerged among dozens of singles despite sharing a total of more than a million images of child abuse.
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Pervert Huw Edwards is just one of a growing number of online pedophiles who have been spared jail, a Sun probe reveals Credit: Louis Wood
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Edwards’ case emerged among dozens of free people despite sharing more than a million child abuse imagesCredit: Enterprise
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Online paedos got away with amassing over a million child abuse images without serving a single day in jailCredit: Getty
Only 20 percent of such cases end up in prison, experts say.
Tory leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch wants a review of the guidelines.
Britain’s “two-tier” justice system has been laid bare by an investigation which identified 27 prosecutions over the past nine months in which judges allowed those who trafficked in sick photos and videos to walk free.
At the same time, in a number of cases – including those of a failed bicycle thief and a woman who kidnapped Creme Eggs – the defendants were jailed for more than 17 years.
Fury erupted when former BBC journalist Huw Edwards left court on Monday with a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years for viewing perverted internet material.
Experts warned yesterday that less than 20 percent of paedos convicted of accessing child abuse images receive prison sentences.
However, NSPCC figures show police recorded more than 33,000 offenses last year where images of child abuse were collected and distributed – an increase of 25 per cent on the year.
Our investigation found a former mayor, an actor, a high school teacher, an academic and a sex offender who later founded a pedophile ring, all of whom received a slap on the wrist.
The defendants were released with suspended prison sentences, were given rehabilitation measures and registered in the sex offender registry.
On the day Edwards left court in a chauffeured Mercedes, homeless man Michael King, 44, began an eight-month sentence for stealing five vacuum cleaners in Ely, Cambs.
‘Two-tier’ justice blasted by Kemi Badenoch as she slams ‘extraordinary’ decision to spare Huw Edwards
Stephen McDonagh, 37, from Kidlington, Oxfordshire, began a one-month sentence for stealing a bicycle in Welwyn, Herts.
Yet former university researcher Ralph Harrington, 58, avoided jail despite downloading 362,500 images of child abuse after “repeating”.
His treasure, amassed over eight years, included nearly 3,000 paintings graded A, the worst kind.
He was even previously convicted for making indecent images.
After sentencing, Harrington, of York, was given a year in jail, suspended for two years and placed on the sex offenders’ register.
Days later, cake thief Joseph Clarke, from Sittingbourne, Kent, was jailed for four months for stealing £64.80 of country cold cuts and baking trays with cherries from the co-op.
In July, Joshua Pope, 26, who tutored 11-year-olds in Plymouth, was given a suspended prison sentence despite downloading 786 images and videos of child sexual abuse.
Like Edwards, he blamed isolation during Covid for his depravity.
Actor Daniel Frogson, 21, who appeared on the BBC’s His Dark Materials, was caught with 845 indecent images and sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years.
Earlier this month, unemployed Thomas Dyke, 24, from Pontypool, also avoided jail – despite having images of him sexually abusing a two-year-old.
Our investigation also looked into the case of Matthew Mather-Franks, 39, who was spared jail in 2016 for possessing indecent images.
TERRY JUDKINS (11 PICTURES)
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Former Mayor Judkins was sentenced to a year in prison, suspended, at Swansea Crown Court for making and distributing indecent imagesCredit: https://www.tenby-today.co.uk/news/courts/ex-pembroke-dock-mayor- admits- possession charges
DANIEL FROGSON (845 IMAGES)
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Actor Frogson was given an eight-month suspended sentence at Nottingham Crown Court for possessing images of childrenCredit: Getty
JOSHUA POPE (786 PICTURES)
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A secondary school teacher, 26, walked free from Plymouth Crown Court in July after downloading images of child abuse Credit: Northcliffe Media Ltd
Until 2022, he was the ringleader of the group transmission of sexual abuse of children and infants who acted drugged or drunk.
A search of his devices found an additional 1,487 images of child abuse.
Tory leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch told our show Never Mind the Ballots: “Something is wrong. It seems like there is a two-tiered system where some people, or some crimes, are looked at differently than others much less, and we don’t want that.
“It shouldn’t matter if you have money or work for the BBC or have been on TV, you should be punished if you have done something so serious. It is very serious.”
Ms Badenoch called for an urgent review of the rules on punishment.
Former Met chief Mick Neville added: “The public is right to question why Huw Edwards is only getting a suspended sentence when others are being sent to prison for far less serious matters.”
The National Crime Agency estimates that 830,000 adults in the UK pose some degree of sexual threat to young people.
Lisa McKrindle, from the Center for Expertise on Child Abuse, said half a million children are abused every year to satisfy online paedos.
MANSOOR KHAN (100 PICTURES)
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An NHS consultant and father of 54, who had ‘disgusting’ images, was given an eight-month suspended sentence in SalisburyCredit: Solent
PAUL RIOZZI (THREE PICTURES)
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A medical student (40) praised her work with children on social networks. He was given an eight-month suspended sentence in LondonCredit: https://www.mylondon.news/news/south-london-news/medical-student-40-who-boasted-27540338
THOMAS DEWEY (FIVE PICTURES)
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Former east London councilor Dewey, 36, who had ‘sadistic’ images of a child, was given a one-year suspended sentenceCredit: https://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news/23663026.ex-hackney-councillor-admits-child – rude
She said: “There would be hearings like this all over the country. We need to get to grips with the frequency and scale of these events.
“In total, in 2022/23, the police recorded 105,000 violations. A really big 14 percent increase that year in image violations. 40,000 abuses based on images.
“We estimate that at least 500,000 are abused each year.”
Edwards’ barrister, Philip Evans, described the offenses as “abhorrent” as he apologized to the court and his family on behalf of his client.
The public rightly wonders why Huw Edwards only gets a suspended sentence while others go to prison for much less serious matters
Former Chief Inspector Mick Neville
But Jim Gamble, former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command, said he knew there was “no hope” Edwards would go to jail.
He told Times Radio: “Less than 20 per cent of individuals convicted of this type of offense actually receive a prison sentence.”
And he said allowing criminals to walk free meant there was no active deterrence. Retired Metohija chief Simon Owens said online pedophile offenses such as those committed by Edwards “are often treated as victimless crimes”.
But he stressed: “Behind every one of those real pictures there is a child victim who has been abused in the most horrific way.”
Rani Govender, from the NSPCC, said: “The sexual abuse of children online is at record levels and perpetrators like Edwards who encourage this crime should be in no doubt of its severity and the impact it has on victims.
“Companies must act by introducing technology that can identify and disrupt child abuse images shared on their messaging services.”
‘HIDING IN PLAIN’
Author: Mike Sullivan
The HUW Edwards scandal has rightly sparked disgust and anger at the light sentences given to offenders who view child sexual images.
It has also raised suspicions about a two-tiered justice system in which offenses that cause children to suffer excruciating abuse are taken less seriously than some petty crimes.
It is a problem that has been hidden in plain sight for years, and is only now attracting attention after disgraced former BBC presenter Edwards walked out of court.
Better late than never.
There are currently more offenders accessing illegal images of children than ever, and the sheer number of them means that only a small percentage of them will ever be brought before the courts.
The NSPCC estimates that up to 500,000 men have viewed images of child sexual abuse in the UK – yes, really.
Analysis of police data by the charity suggests that 33,000 men – and it’s a male issue – arrested last year had illegal images of children – a 25% increase on the previous 12 months.
And that’s a growing problem with the advent of artificial intelligence technology that creates new ways to create illegal images.
Organized crime networks also continue to exploit the dark web to supply the vast online pedophile market and profit from evil.
The scale of the problem means that the National Crime Agency and police forces often have to choose important targets – primarily those that have access to children.
Like Edwards, many of those caught will be caught by police thanks to the domino effect of one offender’s digital devices leading to another.
Police undercover units also track pedophiles online and arrested 1,700 men last year.
As laudable as these efforts are, they are just a drop in the bucket in terms of solving the overall problem.
It is therefore imperative that when criminals like Edwards are brought to justice, a deterrent message is sent to others like him.
Only by imprisoning criminals will the message be sent that such behavior is unacceptable in a civilized society.
If that means finding new prison space—perhaps by locking up offenders in abandoned military barracks or ships at sea until seven new government prisons are built—then so be it. The money will be well spent.
The consequences of failure to do so will be the continued erosion of public faith in a criminal justice system that can treat the theft of a cake more seriously than the suffering of children.
Written by Mike Sullivan, Crime Editor
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education