Huw Edwards, the BBC's former top news presenter, pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of making indecent images of children.
Huw Edwards, the BBC's former top news presenter, pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of making indecent images of children.
The offences he pleaded guilty to at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in central London during a 26-minute hearing involved images shared on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021.
Edwards has been remanded on bail until a sentencing hearing on Sept. 16. He could face up to 10 years in prison.
The court heard that Edwards, 62, was involved in an online chat with an adult man on the messaging service who sent him 377 sexual images, of which 41 were indecent images of children.
The court heard that Edwards, 62, was involved in an online chat with an adult man on the messaging service who sent him 377 sexual images, of which 41 were indecent images of children.
The images that were sent included seven of what are known as “category A,” which are the most indecent. Of those, the estimated age of most of the children was between 13 and 15, but one was aged between 7 and 9, the court was told.
The court also heard that the unnamed male asked Edwards on Feb. 2, 2021, whether what he was sending was too young. Edwards told him not to send any underage images. Five more, though, were sent, and the exchange of pornographic images continued until April 2022.
Speaking in Edwards’ defence, his lawyer Philip Evans said there is “no suggestion” that his client had “in the traditional sense of the word, created any image of any sort.”
Edwards, he added, "did not keep any images, did not send any to anyone else and did not and has not sought similar images from anywhere else.”
Not as good as it used to be, but I'll watch watch it for Paul Merton and Ian Hislop.
I brought it up because, along with a lot of later-disgraced politicians and celebrities on the show, the original host himself got fired after it turned out he was doing coke and having sex with prostitutes. (Most people didn't give a shit about that one to be fair.)
In the UK, if you download an image, or you receive it into any kind of electronic device, it’s considered to be “making” it, because you’re creating a copy of it (digitally).
It’s an outdated law written for like, you know, someone developing film to distribute photographs, I suppose? But it has followed us into the digital age and no longer makes much sense.
He didn’t take any of the photos himself, he didn’t print them out or distribute them or anything. He just received them on his phone.
It seems like the story updated over time. Originally the bbc said making and then the article content updated to say received. Maybe they jumped the gun, I don't know.
If it was received, doesn't excuse the fact a person in his station should have reported it to the highest level. Who the fuck uses WhatsApp to view porn? Definitely sounds dodgy.
Media Bias Fact Check is a fact-checking website that rates the bias and credibility of news sources. They are known for their comprehensive and detailed reports.
Beep boop. This action was performed automatically. If you dont like me then please block me.💔
If you have any questions or comments about me, you can make a post to LW Support lemmy community.