Huw Edwards, a former top BBC journalist, plead guilty to three counts of obtaining, keeping and sharing indecent images of children on Wednesday.
Edwards, who was the lead presenter of BBC One’s “News at Ten” from 2003-2023, admitted to receiving 41 images from a convicted pedophile through WhatsApp, per the BBC.
Of those images, which could include both still photos or videos, seven were labeled Category A, with two featuring children aged between 7 and 9 years old. The rest were of kids estimated to be aged 13 to 15. Edwards entered his guilty plea at Westminster magistrates’ court a month after being charged on June 26. He was first arrested in November 2023.
In response to his guilty plea, the BBC said it was “shocked.”
“There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour and our thoughts are with all those affected,” the British news platform wrote in its statement, adding that it was aware of Edwards’ arrest in relation to suspicions of “serious offenses” and acknowledging that he was ultimately released on bail.
In total, Edwards was accused of exchanging 377 sexually explicit images with the 25-year-old pedophile in question, with the above 41 featuring minors (Category A images typically depict penetration).
Edwards’ sentencing is set for Sept. 16. For now, he is out on bail, People reports.
Prior to this scandal, the Welsh journalist was suspended by the BBC last July due to sexual misconduct allegations made by The Sun. Despite local police finding no evidence of misconduct, he ultimately left the BBC in April.
