Former BBC anchor Huw Edwards allegedly paid teen $45,000 for Explicit Images

A 21-year-old man alleges Huw Edwards paid him $45,000 in exchange of explicit images when he was teen.

BBC newsreader Huw Edwards speaks at the UK Holocaust Memorial Day Commemorative Ceremony in Westminster in London, Britain January 27, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/File

A 21-year-old man has come forward, alleging that former BBC anchor Huw Edwards paid him $45,000 for pornographic images of himself as a teenager. Edwards, 62, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children in a London court on Wednesday.

According to the Daily Mirror, the victim, who was in a vulnerable state at the time, felt "groomed" by Edwards, who sent him $640 for a hotel stay and subsequently asked for explicit images in exchange for financial assistance. The man stated, "I needed help, so I did. I feel like he sort of fed on my vulnerability... as he knew I needed the money. I felt like I was being groomed."

The man received a total of $45,000 from Edwards over a two-year period, according to his PayPal account. He claimed, "In my head, I wasn't selling pictures of myself, I was just getting the money he said he would give me to help me."

The man's mother discovered the explicit messages and orchestrated a sting operation, leading to Edwards' arrest in November 2023. The BBC initially failed to act on the complaint, prompting the mother to contact The Sun, which published a story about Edwards' relationship with the man. Edwards was subsequently suspended and later arrested.

In a disturbing twist, Edwards contacted the man months later, asking "What's been going on? I really care about you." The man described Edwards as showing "no remorse for anything at all."

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