The man who shared indecent images of children with the former BBC presenter Huw Edwards is a 25-year-old fellow Welshman who was given a 12-month suspended jail term earlier this year.
Alex Williams, from Merthyr Tydfil, was sentenced in March at Merthyr Tydfil crown court after pleading guilty to seven offences related to possessing and distributing indecent images.
On Tuesday, Edwards was ordered by a Westminster magistrate not to contact Williams after the BBC’s highest paid newsreader admitted accessing indecent photographs of children as young as seven.
In court, Edwards pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children after he was sent 41 illegal images by Williams. The court was told that seven of the indecent images shared with the broadcaster by Williams were classed as the most serious type, known as category A.
The Metropolitan police have confirmed that their investigation into Edwards began in November after they were passed information by South Wales police. The Welsh force, as part of their investigation into Williams, found he had forwarded indecent images of children to the BBC presenter.
South Wales police confirmed to the Guardian that Williams was arrested in August 2022 and bailed as its investigation continued. Williams was charged in December 2023 and appeared in court in January. He pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing category A, B and C images as well as possessing prohibited images of children.
The final indecent image he sent to Edwards was in August 2021, Westminster magistrates court was told on Tuesday. It was a category A film featuring a young boy.
Messages showed that Williams told the newsreader that the child was “quite young looking” and that he had more images that were illegal, the court heard. Edwards told him not to send any illegal images and no more were sent, the court heard. The pair continued to exchange legal pornographic images until April 2022.
Williams has gone into hiding since his messages to Edwards were revealed according to the MailOnline, which made contact with his parents. They told reporters Williams was no longer living in their home and they had not seen him for up to four months. They denied knowledge of his conviction for sexual offences.