'Devastated' mother of teenager 'groomed' by Huw Edwards hits back after disgraced star …

September 17, 2024, 09:16 | Updated: September 17, 2024, 09:22

The “devastated” mother of a boy who was “groomed” by TV presenter Huw Edwards has hit out after the star avoided a prison sentence for possessing child abuse images.

Edwards, 63, was sentenced to six months' imprisonment, suspended for two years, at sentencing at Westminster Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty to “taking” indecent photographs.

However, the newsreader was spared a prison sentence by a judge on Monday despite admitting paying a paedophile around £1,500 for child sex abuse images.

The presenter who received the images from convicted paedophile Alex Williams via WhatsApp had 41 indecent photos of children on his device.

The mother of a teenager who was “groomed” by the star in another case has now hit back after the verdict, expressing fears for other victims, amid claims the star's phone and laptop were never examined.

“I am devastated that Edwards did not go to prison for his actions. He exploited young children for his own sick ends and should have gone to prison,” she said.

It was revealed that Edwards paid her son £35,000 for sexually explicit images – an allegation that had nothing to do with the child abuse crimes for which he was convicted.

“People have been jailed for sedition for years – but paedophiles who share images of young children being sexually abused do not deserve the same punishment?” she told The Sun on Monday.

The mother criticized the police's inaction in searching electronic devices and said: “It is shocking that the police did not find the phone he used to receive the child abuse images.”

“That makes me think: How many more victims are there?”

Read more: Huw Edwards avoided prison after paying a paedophile up to £1,500 for child abuse images

Read more: Disgraced former BBC news presenter Huw Edwards appears in court for sentencing over child abuse images

As part of his sentence, Edwards must also attend 25 sessions of a sex offender program and sign the sex offenders' register for seven years.

The disgraced star was also ordered to pay £3,128 in costs and victim compensation.

There had previously been a huge uproar over the star's £200,000 salary after the BBC's director general said there were “ongoing discussions” about the possibility of reclaiming the money, which the star has so far failed to repay despite being asked to do so.

Speaking to a House of Lords committee earlier this month, Tim Davie said: “We have made the formal request and I cannot go into too much detail, but discussions are ongoing.”

“The money must be repaid and we have made the corresponding request.”

The accusation of “creating” indecent images of children refers to the possession of the images and not to the creation of the abusive images, as the term suggests.

The Crown Persecution Service guidelines define it as: “The creation, by an act, of indecent images.”

Among the images found on Edwards' device were seven Category A images – defined as the most serious classification of offensive images.

In two cases it is said to have been a child between the ages of seven and nine.

The stepfather of the boy “groomed” by Edwards has now written a letter to his local MP demanding to meet the BBC Director General in person following the verdict.

He said: “The BBC should have suspended him without pay from day one. The police should have acted much more quickly. They missed the chance to look at his phone and laptop at the time.”

In a mug shot published after the verdict was announced, the gaunt presenter can be seen staring blankly into the camera.

After his verdict was read out by a judge on Monday, the disgraced star left the courtroom with his legal team and then got into a chauffeur-driven black Mercedes.