HUW Edwards paid a convicted pedophile £1,500 for child sex images and videos of children as young as seven, a court heard today.
Alex Williams gave the former BBC presenter, 63, the pictures and video in a botched WhatsApp chat.
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Huw Edwards arrived in court for sentencing. Credits: PA
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He was seen driving a black suitcase as he entered the courtCredit: PA
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The presenter quit the BBC in April after 40 years covering some of the world’s biggest storiesCredit: BBC
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Pictures sent to him by paedo Alex Williams Credits: Facebook
Edwards was sentenced today after pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children.
He issued a full apology for his “despicable” crimes – saying he was “extremely sorry” for “causing harm to my family and loved ones”.
Williams sent the veteran newsreader 41 pictures – including two videos of a seven-year-old boy – in a sick WhatsApp chat.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard he paid between £1,000 and £1,500 for the paintings, which he described as “amazing”.
Williams, who scoured the dark web for disgusting images and videos, then used the money to support himself at university.
He also asked Edwards to buy him gifts in exchange for “all the hot videos” — including a pair of Air Force 1 sneakers for Christmas.
Williams also demanded hundreds of pounds for the paintings.
On one occasion, the predator asked if Edwards wanted sexual images of a person whose age could be “identified as between 14 and 16 years old”.
The newsreader replied: “Yes xxx”.
Williams later sent Edwards the full file, which contained about 30 attachments – including indecent images of children.
My son was normal and happy before you came into his life, mum tells Huw Edwards in open letter
He also warned the ped “not to send anything to minors”, the court heard.
On August 11, 2021, Williams contacted Edwards and told him he had some “naughty” images.
Edwards tells him to “go on” and Williams says “young” before the reader repeats.
Williams said the victim in the picture looked quite young – prompting Edwards to respond that “age can be deceiving”.
When the paedo suggested some of the images might be illegal, Edwards replied: “Ah ok, don’t”.
Edwards chatted online with Williams, 25, between December 2020 and August 2021.
During that time, the paedo sent Edwards 377 sexual images, 41 of which were indecent images of children.
Williams first got in touch with the host because he randomly texted famous people to see who would respond.
In March, he pleaded guilty to seven criminal offenses related to the possession and distribution of indecent images.
He was sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for two years.
EDWARDS UNMASKED
By Scarlet Howes | Sun Investigations Team
The mum of a teenager who was sent disgusting messages by Huw Edwards has hit out at the disgraced BBC presenter in an open letter.
She tells him that he has caused “immense pain and suffering” to her and her son in pursuit of his “sick pleasure”.
Edwards, 62, is due to be sentenced today over indecent images of children as young as seven that were found on his mobile phone.
Seven of the 41 he admitted receiving were Category A — the most serious classification.
The mother of a young man who was paid tens of thousands of pounds by Edwards in exchange for sexually explicit images says the former news presenter should be jailed.
She writes: “Edwards exploited very young children for his own disease and in my opinion should go to prison.
“It breaks my heart as a mother to know that the man who nurtured and controlled my son also shared the worst image of child abuse.
“No pedophile who enjoys pictures of small children should be free on the streets.”
Edwards faces possible jail time when he appears in court today and could spend the rest of his life on the sex offenders’ register.
The distraught mother of Huw Edwards’ young victim told the embarrassed BBC star: “All we cared about was stopping you.”
She poured her heart out in an open letter after exposing the disgraced 10 News presenter for sending her teenage son tens of thousands of pounds in exchange for sexually explicit images.
Seven pictures belong to category A – the most serious classification.
This includes two moving images of a small child, probably between seven and nine years old.
He also had photos of other children between the ages of 13 and 15 stored on his phone.
An additional 12 images were assigned to category B, and 19 to category C.
The court heard in July that Edwards did not create any of the images himself.
A charge of making indecent images can mean opening an email attachment, downloading an image or receiving an image via social media.
In mitigation, Philip Evans KC, defending, argued that Edwards had not paid Williams to receive indecent images of children.
Creeping excuse
He also claimed that Edwards did not get any “pleasure” from the images and videos.
The lawyer added: “Mr Edwards wants to apologise. He wants the court to know how deeply he is sorry. He recognizes the disgusting nature of such images and the pain caused to those who appear in such images.
“For that matter, he is sincerely apologetic and makes it clear that he deeply regrets it.
“He admits that he betrayed the priceless trust and faith of so many people. He knows that he has hurt and damaged his family and loved ones around him.
“He is genuinely sorry and genuinely sorry for committing these offences.”
But the court was told Edwards was described as a “medium” risk of harming the children.
It was also heard that JP suffered from depression and mental health issues.
He is currently doing well “therapeutically” in the psychiatric ward of the hospital environment where he is being treated.
But this may not last if he gets out of that bubble, the prosecutor said.
Mr Hope added that “his decision making during the relevant time may have been adversely impaired by a combination of mood disorder, neurocognitive disorder and alcohol consumption”.
How are indecent images defined and categorized?
Under Section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1978, it is an offense to possess indecent photographs of children.
The images are categorized into three groups, from A – the most serious – to C.
- Category A: Explicit material involving penetration, sexual activity with an animal or sadism (considered the most severe).
- Category B: Explicit material representing non-penetrative sexual activity (medium range in terms of severity).
- Category C: Explicit material that includes erotic posing (least serious).
Source: CPS
Edwards left the BBC in April after 40 years covering some of the world’s biggest stories.
This included headline coverage of the Queen’s funeral and the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
He was one of the BBC’s highest-profile and highest-paid presenters on a salary of between £475,000 and £479,999 for 2023/24.
The BBC confirmed it knew its chief newsreader had been arrested in November, but paid him for another five months.
The Sun previously revealed how the father-of-five had split from his TV producer wife.
Edwards has moved out of the family home in Dulwich, south London, which he shared with Vicky.
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The veteran newsreader was sent 41 images – including two videos of a seven-year-old boy Credit: Reuters
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Edwards was silent as he entered the Hall of Fame: Louis Wood
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He pleaded guilty to the chargesCredit: AP
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education