Paedo who sent child sex images to Huw Edwards on WhatsApp is identified as Alex Williams after presenter’s guilty plea
THE paedophile who shared indecent images of children with Huw Edwards has been revealed as Alex Williams following the presenter’s guilty plea.
Ex-BBC news anchor Edwards, 62, today admitted being sent a string of child sex images – including sexual videos of a boy as young as seven.
Edwards received the pictures on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021.
It has now been revealed that Alex Williams, 25, from Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales, shared the images with Edwards via WhatsApp.
Williams previously pleaded guilty to a string of child sex offences.
The force said Williams pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing category A, B and C images as well as possessing prohibited images of children.
He was sentenced to a suspended 12-month jail sentence at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on March 15.
Cops aid an investigation into Edwards began after a phone seized by officers as part of an unrelated probe revealed the broadcaster’s participation in a WhatsApp conversation.
Edwards showed no emotion today as he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court was told seven of the 41 images fall under Category A – the most serious classification.
This included two moving images of a young boy, possibly aged seven and nine years old.
He also had photos of other children aged between 13 and 15 stored on his phone.
A further 12 images were classed as Category B and 19 as Category C.
The ex-presenter could face a maximum of ten years in prison when he is sentenced on September 16.
Prosecutor Ian Hope stressed Edwards had not created any of the images himself.
The charge of making indecent images can mean opening an email attachment, downloading a picture or receiving an image via social media – even if unsolicited or as part of a group chat.
He said the newsreader was involved in an online chat with an adult man on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021.
During this time, the man sent Edwards 377 sexual images, of which 41 were indecent images of children.
The BBC today admitted it knew Edwards had been arrested in November while the newsreader was suspended.
This means the star – one of the BBC’s highest-paid presenters – continued to receive his £475,000 salary.
Edwards remained employed by the company for a further five months before he quit in April.