Who is the convicted paedophile who sent Huw Edwards illegal images?
Huw Edwards was arrested after police searching the phone of a paedophile found the pair had been exchanging WhatsApp messages. The investigation revealed 25-year-old Alex Williams sent Edwards a raft of indecent images of children.
Thursday 1 August 2024 14:48, UK
When the police seized the phone of a聽paedophile, it led them to former BBC newsreader Huw Edwards.
The pair had exchanged messages over WhatsApp - including Edwards being sent 41 indecent images of children.
Here is what we know about the man who sent them.
The 25-year-old at the heart of 'unrelated' probe
Officers in South Wales unearthed the WhatsApp discussion in an "entirely unrelated" probe.
They were investigating Alex Williams, a 25-year-old from Merthyr Tydfil in Wales.
As a result of the original investigation, Williams was convicted of seven offences related to indecent images and prohibited images of children.
He was given a suspended 12-month jail sentence at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on 15 March.
The charges against Williams - and the images he sent
Williams was convicted of possessing and distributing category A, category B and category C indecent images, as well as possessing prohibited images of children.
Category A images are the most serious and include penetrative sexual activity and sexual activity with an animal or sadism, while category B images involve non-penetrative sexual activity.
Category C images do not depict any sexual activity.
Williams was given a suspended 12-month jail sentence at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on 15 March.
Read more:
BBC boss faces urgent meeting over Huw Edwards case
Edwards pleads guilty to making indecent images of children
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What was said in the WhatsApp exchange?
Williams and Edwards were in a WhatsApp conversation between December 2020 and April 2022.
In that time, Williams sent Edwards 377 sexual images - 41 of which were indecent images of children.
Seven of them were classed as category A, while 12 were category B and 22 were category C.
The estimated age of most of the children in the images under category A was between 13 and 15, the court was told at Edwards' first appearance to enter his plea.
But one was aged between seven and nine, the court heard.
Williams asked Edwards in the messages whether those featured in the pictures were too young.
Edwards responded by telling him not to send any underage images, the court was told.
The final indecent image was sent in August 2021, a category A film featuring a young boy, with Williams saying the child was "quite young looking" and telling Edwards he had more images that were illegal.
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No more indecent images were sent after that, but the pair continued to exchange legal pornographic images until April 2022.
Philip Evans KC, defending Edwards, said there was no suggestion his client had made or created any of the images.
Edwards, 62, pleaded guilty to three counts of "making" indecent images of children.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service, the term "making" can include opening, accessing, downloading and storing the content, or receiving an image via social media, even if unsolicited and even if part of a group.
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Williams not linked to last summer's allegations
Last summer, Edwards was revealed to be at the centre of allegations published in The Sun about an unnamed presenter paying a teenager for explicit photos.
He was suspended from the BBC and arrested in November 2023.
He was later named by his wife as the presenter but the Metropolitan Police said that no criminal offence had taken place.
The force has confirmed that the offences Edwards has pleaded guilty to are not linked to the newspaper reports that emerged last summer.