Former BBC News anchor Huw Edwards pled guilty to charges of indecent images of children Wednesday.
Edwards entered the plea at Westminster Magistrates Court in London, surrounded by a packed press gallery, according to Variety. Edwards was once one of the highest paid and most notable voices of the BBC. He spoke only to give his name, date of birth, part of his address, and to enter his plea and confirm he understood his bail conditions.
The prosecutor explained to the court that Edwards received the images via WhatsApp after they were sent by “an adult man who contacted Mr Edwards on social media.” WhatsApp automatically saves images to phones. Edwards asked the individual to stop sending him child pornography, so the individual continue sending “legal pornographic image.”
🚨 BREAKING- HUW EDWARDS LEAVES COURT AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO MAKING INDECENT PICTURES OF CHILDREN pic.twitter.com/7tBkFNBMNo
— banthebbc 𝕏 (@banthebbc) July 31, 2024
A total of 41 images and videos were shared with Edwards between 2020 and 2022, six of which were considered “Category A,” which means the most serious, carrying a sentence of 10 years behind bars. (RELATED: Children’s Entertainer And Convicted Child Sex Offender Dead At 93)
The court heard that those images in Cat 1. mostly involved children aged between 13 and 15, but two “moving images” may have been of a child between the ages of seven and nine, Deadline reported. “The public understanding is important in terms of context here,” Edwards lawyer Philip Evans said of the situation. “He did not keep the images nor send them to anyone else, and did not or has not sought any similar images anywhere else.”
Edwards will return to court until his pre-sentence report in September.
