Ex-Broadcaster sentenced for possessing indecent images of children

Press Release Sexual offences CPS

FORMER BBC news presenter Huw Edwards has been sentenced for possessing indecent images of children today (Monday 16 September 2024).

Edwards, 63, was sentenced to a six-month jail sentence suspended for two years at Westminster Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children.

Picture of Huw Edwards
Huw Edwards

A South Wales Police investigation into another adult male, who has now been sentenced for similar offences, identified they were in communication via social media with Edwards.

WhatsApp chat between the male and Edwards was sexual in nature and it also showed that Edwards was giving him gifts and money. Within the chat there were numerous sexually explicit images, including 41 indecent images of children.

Claire Brinton of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Accessing indecent images of children perpetuates the sexual exploitation of them, which has deep, long-lasting trauma for these victims.

“The CPS and Metropolitan Police were able to prove that Edwards was receiving illegal images and videos involving children via WhatsApp.

“This prosecution sends a clear message that the CPS, working alongside the police, will work to bring to justice those who seek to exploit children, wherever that abuse takes place.”

Notes to editors

  • Claire Brinton is a Specialist Prosecutor for CPS Serious Economic and Organised Crime International Directorate (SEOCID)
  • Huw Edwards (18/08/1961) of South West London, has pleaded guilty to three offences of making indecent images of children and sentenced to a six-month jail sentence suspended for two years at Westminster Magistrates’ Court and has to pay costs of £3,000
  • Huw Edwards was found to have: 41 IIOC comprise 7 Category A images (6x moving and 1x still), 12 Category B images (all moving) and 22 Category C images (1x moving and 21x still).  The estimated ages for the children present in the Category A images is generally around 13 to 15 with two of the moving images showing a child aged around 7 to 9.  The estimated ages for the children present in the Category B images is generally around 12 to 14, and for the Category C images generally around 12 to 15.
Back to CPS News centre

Related Pages

Serious Economic, Organised Crime and International Directorate (SEOCID)

The nature of crime is changing, and the scale and complexity of organised crime groups is growing, driven by global movements of people and threats from new technologies. The criminal justice system must adapt and evolve to meet the challenges that these changes pose. The CPS Serious Economic, Organised Crime and International Directorate (SEOCID) ensures that we have the resilience, expertise and flexibility in our staff and our organisational structure to best respond to new and changing areas of complex crime.
Read more

Sexual offences

There are a range of crimes that can be considered as sexual offences, including non-consensual crimes such as rape or sexual assault, crimes against children including child sexual abuse or grooming, and crimes that exploit others for a sexual purpose, whether in person or online.
Read more