Huw Edwards sentenced for child abuse image offences

Huw Edwards has been sentenced to to six months’ imprisonment suspended for two years. The former BBC News presenter Huw Edwards was in Westminster Magistrates' Court today Monday, September 16 where he was sentenced for child abuse image offences.

In July the 63-year-old admitted having 41 such images which were sent to him on WhatsApp. The court heard Edwards said he was “truly sorry” for how he has “damaged his family and his loved ones”, and for committing the offences.

The court was told Edwards sent hundreds of pounds to Alex Williams, a convicted sex offender, after he sent him pornographic images. The prosecution said Williams asked for a “Christmas gift after all the hot videos” from Edwards.

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Prosecutor Ian Hope said: “Alex Williams says he wants some Air Force 1 trainers that cost around £100, and Mr Edwards offers to send him £200.”

His defence barrister Philip Evans KC said Edwards did not make payments in order to receive indecent images of children, telling the court: “Mr Edwards did not make payments in order for images to be sent to him, and he certainly did not make payments in order that indecent images would be sent to him.”

Edwards admitted three charges of “making” indecent photographs after he was sent 41 illegal images by Williams over WhatsApp. Edwards wrote “yes xxx” when he was asked by Williams if he wanted sexual images of a person whose “age could be discerned as being between 14 and 16”.

Mr Evans said Edwards “did not gain any gratification” from indecent images. Opening the case against the veteran broadcaster, Mr 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 pornographic 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.” Mr Hope continued: “From that chat in December 2020, Alex Williams said that he had ‘a file of vids and pics for you of someone special’.

“Mr Edwards immediately queried who the subject was and was then sent three images of seemingly the same person, from two of which images the subject’s age could be discerned as being between 14 and 16.

“These two were category C indecent images of children in which the child was exposing his penis. Alex Williams stated that he had ‘12 videos and 42 pics I’ve sent you a video of him before’.

“Shortly after Alex Williams asked: ‘want me to send you the full file?’ Mr Edwards responded ‘Yes xxx…’ immediately following which Alex Williams sent to Mr Edwards around 30 attachments, about half of which were category C indecent images of children.”

Mr Hope said Edwards did not respond after convicted paedophile Williams sent him a sexual video of children aged around seven to nine and 11 to 13.

The prosecutor said: “On February 10 2021, a category A video was sent which is notable because the age of one of the children involved was significantly younger than in the rest of the images sent – it showed several acts of penetration between two children aged around seven to nine and 11 to 13 respectively.

“There was no direct response from Mr Edwards to this video, beyond it being marked as ‘read’. A week later… a number of attachments were sent which included two category B videos and four category C still images comprising indecent images of children.

“On February 19 2021, Alex Williams asked: ‘is the stuff I’m sending too young for you?’ The next response from Mr Edwards is dated February 22 2021 saying: ‘don’t send underage’.”

Mr Hope added: “In a later exchange on August 11, 2021, Alex Williams says he has some ‘naughty pics and vids unsure if you’d like’. Mr Edwards tells him to ‘go on’ and Alex Williams states ‘yng (sic)’. Mr Edwards again tells him to ‘go on’ and Alex Williams sends a Category A moving image showing a male child aged around 7 to 9…”

“Mr Edwards inquires where the video is from and Alex Williams says an image sharing group on another social media platform which they have both also used, Telegram. Alex Williams says the subject is ‘quite yng looking’ to which Mr Edwards responds it ‘can be deceptive’ and asks if he has ‘any more?’

“Alex Williams says he has but he is not sure if Mr Edwards would like them as they are illegal. Mr Edwards says: ‘Ah ok don’t’ and the exchange immediately following concerns a series of images which Alex Williams describes as ‘looks young don’t he but he’s deffo 19′.”

Seven of the indecent images shared with Edwards by Williams were of 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.

Williams was charged in relation to his WhatsApp chat with Edwards and was convicted of seven offences following an investigation by South Wales Police – receiving a 12-month suspended sentence. The final indecent image was sent in August 2021, a category A film featuring a young boy, with convicted paedophile Williams telling the newsreader the child was “quite young looking” and that he had more images which were illegal.

The judge sentencing Huw Edwards has said the former broadcaster’s “long-earned reputation is in tatters”.

Chief Magistrate, district judge Paul Goldspring, said: “Perhaps it does not need saying but you are of previous good character.” The judge said he accepts Edwards had been of “exemplary” good character “having enjoyed a very successful career in the media”.

The judge said “It’s obvious that until now you were very highly regarded by the public" and added that he was “perhaps the most recognised newsreader-journalist”.

He told the court: “It is not an exaggeration to say your long-earned reputation is in tatters." Goldspring said he accepted the evidence confirmed that, thanks to his mental disorder at the time of the offending, Edwards had no memory of which, if any of the images he had viewed.

He said: “You did not keep them and you did not send them on to anyone else. I accept that you had issues with your mental health. The degree that you received sexual gratification from the images is difficult to assess.”

Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring said a psycho-sexual therapist, an expert in the case, concluded that Edwards had been in a “perfect storm” at the time of the offending. He said he had turned to online relationships amid a very difficult period in his life.

The expert told court in a report that Edwards had a risk of taking his own life and is a “complex individual” due to psychological factors in his childhood - including his relationship with a “puritanical” father. In mitigation, the magistrate noted that Edwards had no previous convictions, had voluntarily stopped receiving the images, had shown remorse and had a mental disorder.

Overall the charges cover a period between December 2020 and August 2021. Edwards pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children and was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment suspended for two years after admitting accessing indecent images of children.