The young person who Huw Edwards allegedly paid for explicit images has said he felt “groomed” by the TV presenter, it has been reported.
The man – who was at the centre of the original allegations against the former BBC newsreader – accused Edwards of feeding on his vulnerability.
It comes as the 62-year-old broadcaster pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children as young as seven in a separate case earlier this week.
In an interview with the Daily Mirror, the young person said hearing that Edwards now faces a possible prison sentence for separate offences made him feel “sick”.
In July last year, The Sun newspaper first reported that the presenter, who at that point was unnamed, was alleged to have paid a young person for sexually explicit photos according to the victim’s mother.
The paper published his mother’s claims that a mystery presenter had paid her child money in return for the images over three years, beginning when they were 17.
A few days later, the lawyer representing the young person disputed their mother’s account of events, saying “the allegations reported in The Sun newspaper are rubbish”.
Within days, Edwards’ identity was revealed by his wife and he was admitted to hospital due to serious mental health concerns.
The Metropolitan Police assessed the case and concluded there was no information to indicate that a criminal offence had been committed.
But in a new interview on Saturday, the man, now aged 21, described Edwards as “an A-class manipulator”.
He said he first contacted Edwards, among other celebrities, on social media to ask for help when he became homeless.
Initially, Edwards sent him money but soon he started asking if there was anything the young man could offer in return.
“Although it was a friendship at the beginning, it did change. He would say things like, ‘Are you going to do something for me then?’ I needed help, so I did,” he told the Mirror.
“I feel like he sort of fed on my vulnerability…as he knew I needed the money. I felt like I was being groomed,” he added.
The young man went on to send explicit messages and videos to Edwards.
He said: “Because of who he was as a BBC presenter and because he had such power…I felt like I trusted him and that he cared.
“But that’s how the manipulation started. I looked up to this man but he didn’t really care about me.
“I felt like he was taking advantage of me but I felt I had to listen to him because he was Huw Edwards.”
In April, Edwards resigned from the BBC on “medical advice”, the corporation said.
Edwards was suspended by the BBC in July last year.
Earlier this week, he admitted three offences relating to 41 photographs he had on WhatsApp, including seven category A images, which refers to images involving penetrative sexual activity and/or images involving sexual activity with an animal or sadism.
Edwards – who fronted the BBC’s flagship News At Ten programme for decades – has not commented publicly on any of the allegations.