Huw Edwards, once the BBC‘s highest-paid news anchor, has received a six-month suspended prison sentence and apologized for the “repugnant” nature of his offenses after pleading guilty to being in possession of child abuse images earlier this year.
Edwards, a 63-year-old presenter at the peak of his powers until last year, pleaded guilty to child pornography charges in July. During a hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Monday, he was sentenced.
Handing down the sentence, Judge Paul Goldspring said Edwards prison sentence was suspended for two years. He will also undergo sex offender rehabilitation. The judge said Edwards’ reputation was in “tatters” after he was once the “most recognized” news presenter in the UK.
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Prosecutor Ian Hope detailed Edwards’ WhatsApp exchanges with Alex Williams, a student who randomly contacted the newsreader on Instagram and was distributing the indecent images after accessing them on the dark web.
During the exchanges, Edwards described as “amazing” the images of young people, some of which were distressing in nature, and included a file titled “Boys Town Adolescents Presents 13yo.” He did at one point, however, tell Williams not to send images that may be illegal.
Edwards sent Williams cash “gifts” of up to £1,500 ($2,000) over the period the images were sent between December 2020 and April 2021, according to prosecutors. His defense barrister Philip Evans said this was “not paid for the purposes of receiving indecent images,” which the judge accepted. Evans argued that Edwards did not store the images or use them for “personal gratification.”
Edwards wanted the court to know that he was “profoundly sorry” for his actions and that he recognized the “repugnant” nature of the images. “He apologizes sincerely,” Evans said, adding that Edwards knew he had “betrayed the trust” of colleagues and his family. “He has lost [his] good character in a very public way,” he added.
Details about Edwards’ mental health and alcohol use were disclosed during the hearing. This included a “major depressive disorder” and a cognitive disorder that his defense lawyer argued had impacted his judgment and decision-making. Medical assessments said he was at risk of suicide.
Evans argued that Edwards’ exchanges with Williams were the result of an “obvious and unfortunate storm” in his life between 2020 and 2021, and that the newsreader did not recall specific images or exploit them after they were received. The judge accepted this.
Edwards spoke to confirm his name and address. He looked on with a furrowed brow, at times glaring at the prosecution as his case was heard and nodding as his apology was read out. Earlier, the Welsh broadcaster, who has been a fixture on British screens for decades, strode into court confidently. He was carrying luggage and looked directly at media gathered outside the courthouse near Marylebone.
During the hearing in July, the court heard that Edwards received a thread of images on WhatsApp between December 2020 and April 2021. Prosecutors said these images were “clearly approved” by Edwards, and there were 377 of them in total, with 41 classified as indecent.
There were seven category A images, 12 category B and 22 category C. Of the seven category A, which are the most serious, the court heard that they were mostly of children aged 13 to 15 but there were two “moving images” of a young child, possibly aged between seven and nine. Defending Edwards, his lawyer Evans said there was “no suggestion” that Edwards had made or created any of the images. “Making images” can include downloading them.
Edwards’ guilty plea rocked colleagues and Samir Shah, the chairman of the BBC, said he had betrayed the British broadcasting institution. The BBC has demanded Edwards hand back around £200,000 of pay after he admitted to the child abuse images charges. Edwards has so far declined to hand back his salary. He resigned from the BBC in April after the corporation was told by police of his arrest in November 2023.
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