Huw Edwards sent kisses in a flirty exchange with a teenager expressing interest in the BBC’s School Report, an entry-level TV scheme for children.
The paedophile presenter sent kisses to the youngster who had told the news reader, who has pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children.
That he was in his last year of school. Now 23, the lad says he thinks he had a “lucky escape”.
The then-schoolboy says he was contacted by Huw who got in touch randomly in October 2018 after sharing a sweaty gym snap.
Screenshots show the top BBC star sent an unprovoked love heart emoji before sending a kiss.
The lad replied, asking him how’s it going at the BBC as Huw replied, “All good thanks x. You ok?”, adding another love heart emoji.
“Aha yeah why,” the boy asked the presenter, seemingly shocked why the TV star was asking how he was. Huw replied, “Just being polite” – making sure to add another kiss. He proceeded to tell the 17-year-old about his day, explaining he’d been out on a walk. After the lad asked if he should look into the BBC’s School Report, which Huw was heavily involved in until 2017, the presenter told him he should do it, “no question”.
After seeing Edwards plead guilty in court, the young man admits feeling “utterly shocked”, telling The Sun: “It is distressing to think back to the messages we exchanged that this could have ended a lot differently. At the time it felt creepy and knowing what I know now, I feel like I had a lucky escape. My thoughts are with the victims and the people affected.”
Detailing his run-in with the star, he explained: “He sent a love heart emoji to me and I was taken aback. Looking back now at my reply, I can tell I did not think anything of it because of my age. I was just thinking of it innocently because I had a keen interest in their line of work. I replied to the love heart emoji he sent and asked how it was going at the BBC.
“He replied saying it was good and he used a kiss at the end of his message. I did think it was a little strange that he used a kiss at the end but, ultimately, I was not reading into these messages in that way and so did not think more about it. In light of what I know now, it feels as though when he realised I was not flirtatious back, he changed the way he would reply.”
The former BBC News presenter pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on July 31. He engaged in an online conversation with an adult man between December 2020 and August 2021.
The man sent Huw 377 sexual images, of which 41 were indecent images of children. The indecent images that were sent included seven category A, the worst, 12 category B, and 22 category C, the court heard during his first public appearance in over a year. Of the category A images, the estimated age of most of the children was between 13 and 15, but one was age between seven and nine, the magistrates’ court was told.
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Source: New York Post
