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Former BBC news anchor Huw Edwards, once one of the most prominent media figures in Britain, was given a suspended prison sentence Monday for images of child sexual abuse on his phone.
Edwards, 63, pleaded guilty in Westminster Magistrates鈥 Court in July to three counts of making indecent images of children, a charge related to photos sent to him on the WhatsApp messaging service by a man convicted of distributing images of child sex abuse.
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring sentenced Edwards to a six-month prison term suspended for two years.
鈥淚t is not an exaggeration to say your long-earned reputation is in tatters,鈥 Goldspring said.
Edwards' fall from grace over the past year has caused turmoil for the BBC after it was revealed the publicly funded broadcaster paid him about 200,000 pounds (C$358,000) for five months of his salary after he had been arrested in November while on leave. The BBC has asked him to pay it back.
"We are appalled by his crimes," the BBC said in a statement after the sentencing. "He has betrayed not just the BBC, but audiences who put their trust in him."
Edwards had been one of the BBC鈥檚 top earners when he was suspended in July 2023 over separate claims made last year involving a teenager he allegedly paid for sexually explicit photos. Police investigated and decided not to bring charges.
Although Edwards was not publicly named at the time those allegations surfaced, his wife later revealed he was the news presenter investigated and said he was hospitalized for serious mental health issues.
He never returned to the air but the BBC kept him on the payroll until he resigned in April for health reasons.
Edwards began his BBC career in Wales four decades ago. He went on to become lead anchor on the nighttime news for two decades and led the coverage of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 as well as election coverage.
The BBC said at the time of his guilty plea that it was shocked to hear the details of the charges against him.
More than 375 sexual images were sent to him on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021. More than 40 were indecent images of children, including seven classified as 鈥渃ategory A鈥 鈥 the most indecent 鈥 with children estimated to be between 13 and 15. One child was aged between 7 and 9.
In chats with Alex Williams, a convicted pedophile, Edwards was asked if he wanted sexual images of a person whose 鈥渁ge could be discerned as being between 14 and 16,鈥 and Edwards replied, 鈥測es xxx,鈥 prosecutor Ian Hope said.
鈥淔rom that chat in December 2020, Alex Williams said that he had 鈥榓 file of vids and pics for you of someone special,鈥欌 Hope said.
Edwards asked who the subject and was then sent three images that appeared to be the same person who appeared to be aged 14 to 16, Hope said.
Williams later sent Edwards video in February 2021 that involved two children, one possibly as young as seven and another no older than 13, involving penetration, Hope said.
Edwards did not respond, but when later asked by Williams if the material was too young, he said, 鈥渄on鈥檛 send underage.鈥 He also said he didn鈥檛 want him to send anything illegal.
Defence lawyer Philip Evans said Edwards was 鈥渢ruly sorry鈥 for the offenses and the damage he had done to his family.
鈥淗e apologizes sincerely and he makes it clear that he has the utmost regret and he recognizes that he has betrayed the priceless trust and faith of so many people,鈥 Evans said.
Evans said Williams had reached out to Edwards on Instagram at a time when he was mentally vulnerable and began sending him images. He said Edwards never received gratification from the images and hadn鈥檛 saved them or sent them to anyone.
Hope said Edwards paid Williams 鈥渘ot insignificant sums of money,鈥 as gifts that Williams used for support while studying at a university.
At one point, Williams asked for a 鈥淐hristmas gift after all the hot videos鈥 he had sent. Edwards had said some of the images were 鈥渁mazing,鈥 Hope said.
Williams, 25, was given a suspended 1-year sentence in March for possessing and distributing indecent images as well as possessing prohibited images of children.
The federal government will be further limiting the number of international students permitted to enter Canada next year. It鈥檚 the government鈥檚 latest immigration-related measure to address Canadians' ongoing housing and affordability concerns.
The Conservatives' first shot at toppling the Liberal government is doomed to fail, after Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Fran莽ois Blanchet told reporters his MPs will vote confidence in the government.
Lebanon's health ministry said Wednesday that at least 14 people were killed and 450 others wounded by exploding electronic devices in multiple regions of the country. The explosions came a day after an apparent Israeli attack targeting pagers used by Hezbollah killed at least 12 and wounded nearly 3,000. Here are the latest updates.
Just one day after pagers used by hundreds of members of the militant group Hezbollah exploded, more electronic devices detonated in Lebanon Wednesday in what appeared to be a second wave of sophisticated, deadly attacks that targeted an extraordinary number of people. Here's what we know so far.
Canada abstained today from a high-profile United Nations vote demanding that Israel end its 'unlawful presence' in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank within a year.
Two lucky people in Ontario and Quebec will split Tuesday鈥檚 record-breaking $80-million Lotto Max jackpot.
Rogers Communications Inc. is buying out Bell's 37.5 per cent share of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment for $4.7 billion, giving it 75 per cent ownership of the sports conglomerate.
Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.
A B.C couple has been ordered to stop living in a motorhome on the property where their under-construction home 鈥 which they were first given a permit to build more than six years ago 鈥 has become an 鈥渆yesore,鈥 according to a recent court decision.
A B.C couple has been ordered to stop living in a motorhome on the property where their under-construction home 鈥 which they were first given a permit to build more than six years ago 鈥 has become an 鈥渆yesore,鈥 according to a recent court decision.
Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.
May 9, 2022 was the day Blayne McKay thought he was going to die. He called his wife to say goodbye, after getting electrocuted at the SaskPower Island Falls Hydroelectric Station, about 100 kilometres northwest of Flin Flon.
More than a dozen soldiers were sent to hospital this afternoon after an accident at a military base in Quebec.
A crew member of a Canadian Coast Guard ship has been lost at sea off southern Newfoundland.
An ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey named Goliath is missing from its longtime home at a veterinary hospital south of Calgary.
Lawyers for Sean "Diddy Combs asked a judge Wednesday to let him await his sex trafficking trial at his luxury home on an island near Miami Beach, rather than a grim federal jail in Brooklyn.
A U.S. court on Tuesday upheld disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell's conviction on sex trafficking charges for helping the late financier Jeffrey Epstein abuse underage girls.
Former first lady Melania Trump posted a new video on social media Wednesday defending her previous nude modelling work as she promoted her new book.
Just one day after pagers used by hundreds of members of the militant group Hezbollah exploded, more electronic devices detonated in Lebanon Wednesday in what appeared to be a second wave of sophisticated, deadly attacks that targeted an extraordinary number of people. Here's what we know so far.
The U.S. Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation has released footage showing the wreckage of the Titan submersible as part of the public hearing into the vessel's implosion in June 2023.
A Florida sheriff fed up with a spate of false school shooting threats is taking a new tactic to try and get through to students and their parents: He's posting the mugshot of any offender on social media.
Canada abstained today from a high-profile United Nations vote demanding that Israel end its 'unlawful presence' in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank within a year.
The Conservatives' first shot at toppling the Liberal government is doomed to fail, after Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Fran莽ois Blanchet told reporters his MPs will vote confidence in the government.
Federal Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez is set to announce he鈥檚 stepping down from cabinet and as the Quebec lieutenant on Thursday, but he鈥檒l remain an MP, CTV News has confirmed.
More people who have never touched a cigarette are getting lung cancer, but there are ways to prevent it, according to a doctor.
With its line-up of sweet snacks, Hershey isn鈥檛 known as a purveyor of diet foods. However, the company鈥檚 newest products are made specifically for those on a fitness kick.
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Australian police said Wednesday they have infiltrated Ghost, an encrypted global communications app developed for criminals, leading to dozens of arrests.
Ontario Provincial Police are warning social media users about recent scams.
Qualcomm lost its bid on Wednesday to get a European Union antitrust penalty thrown out after a top court largely rebuffed the technology company's arguments in the case involving cellphone chipsets.
Lawyers for Sean "Diddy Combs asked a judge Wednesday to let him await his sex trafficking trial at his luxury home on an island near Miami Beach, rather than a grim federal jail in Brooklyn.
In 2011, a young Taylor Swift said she was not inspired to sing about topics related to politics. Over a decade later, she's singing a different tune.
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With Canada's annual inflation rate reaching the central bank's two per cent target, the country's affordability crisis could be peaking, according to an economist.
The Michelin Guide's famous inspectors have ventured outside Toronto's city limits.
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Newlyweds from Starbuck, Man. are starting their future together with a multi-million-dollar nest egg thanks to a big lottery win.
Las Vegas Aces superstar A鈥檍a Wilson and Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark both broke WNBA records Sunday, with Wilson becoming the first player to score 1,000 points in a single season and Clark breaking the rookie scoring record.
Vancouver Canucks forward Dakota Joshua revealed Tuesday he underwent cancer treatment over the summer, and will not be ready to play when the team's training camp begins later this week.
The Maple Leafs unveiled their new helmet partner that really puts the 'o' in Toronto.
Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.
The plant was expected to produce batteries for a million electric vehicles a year. Once up and running, it was supposed to create hundreds of permanent jobs in a small southeastern Ontario municipality. But two years later, spending on the construction of the Umicore plant has been delayed in what the company calls a "significant worsening of the EV market context."
A Winnipeg man is asking for help after a classic car that has been a part of his family since the 1950s was stolen from his garage.
An ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey named Goliath is missing from its longtime home at a veterinary hospital south of Calgary.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
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David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.
Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.
A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.
If you take a look to the right of Hilda Duddridge鈥檚 100th birthday cake, you鈥檒l see a sculpture of a smiling girl extending her arms forward.
Two sisters have finally been reunited with a plane their father built 90 years ago, that is also considered an important part of Canadian aviation history.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has called on B.C. Premier David Eby to abandon the province's planned expansion of involuntary care for people suffering from a combination of drug addiction, brain injuries and mental health issues.
TransLink says it is one step closer to meeting its net-zero emissions targets after converting its West Coast Express commuter trains between Vancouver and the Fraser Valley to renewable diesel fuel.
A B.C couple has been ordered to stop living in a motorhome on the property where their under-construction home 鈥 which they were first given a permit to build more than six years ago 鈥 has become an 鈥渆yesore,鈥 according to a recent court decision.
Two people are dead following an early-morning shooting at a park in a quiet neighbourhood in Keswick, York Regional Police say. Police confirmed just before 11 a.m. that they were investigating a double homicide at Bayview Park. YRP said they responded to the sounds of gunshots at the park just before 7:30 a.m.
Rogers Communications Inc. is buying out Bell's 37.5 per cent share of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment for $4.7 billion, giving it 75 per cent ownership of the sports conglomerate.
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Alberta's transportation minister says the City of Calgary's decision to wind down the Green Line LRT project is "unfortunate."
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Matthew Tkachuk estimated that he tells a story about Johnny Gaudreau's exploits, both the on-ice and off-ice variety, to somebody at least once a week.
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Black men who are the victims of racial profiling and harassment by police forces in Quebec say they are being asked to sign non-disclosure agreements in order to receive their settlement cheques.
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A streak of sunny and hot mid-September weather set new high temperatures records in the Maritimes.
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More than $300,000 worth of stolen vehicles were seized from a Winnipeg compound earlier this month, police announced Wednesday.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said an MLA ousted from his caucus this week was given a choice before he was shown the door.
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A new financial literacy course is now a requirement to graduate high school in Saskatchewan.
On Monday, the Saskatchewan Roughriders announced they added American running back, Ryquell Armstead to their active roster.
The federal government will be further limiting the number of international students permitted to enter Canada next year. It鈥檚 the government鈥檚 latest immigration-related measure to address Canadians' ongoing housing and affordability concerns.
City council approved an 'evictions survey' during Tuesday night鈥檚 meeting to get a better snapshot of the impacts of evictions occurring within Guelph.
Wellington County Ontario Provincial Police responded to a serious motor vehicle collision on Wellington Road 18, just west of Salem.
May 9, 2022 was the day Blayne McKay thought he was going to die. He called his wife to say goodbye, after getting electrocuted at the SaskPower Island Falls Hydroelectric Station, about 100 kilometres northwest of Flin Flon.
A 14-year-old student who allegedly set her classmate on fire is facing a new charge.
Catherine Sanche says her cousin and best friend Emily Sanche never feared her boyfriend Thomas Hamp would hurt her in the weeks leading up to her death in February 2022.
North Bay Police Service says one person has died following an industrial accident at the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission Rail Yard on Tuesday.
Security video shows a man breaking into a thrift store operated by a Sudbury animal rescue and stealing items from a jewelry case Tuesday morning.
In court Wednesday, the director of Ontario's Complex Prosecutions Bureau said he was staying criminal charges against the Ministry of Labour and five others in connection with a mining fatality in 2006.
Fanshawe College is being sued over supposed deficiencies in its paralegal program. A proposed class action seeks $10 million in damages on behalf of hundreds of students enrolled in the college's paralegal program since 2020.
London police have released a description of a suspect wanted in relation to an $800,000 arson investigation. Fire crews were called to an abandoned residence at the corner of Dundas Street and Hewitt Street earlier this month.
If your phone rings with a number you don't recognize, it could be the City of London calling. This year's resident satisfaction survey is taking place until Oct. 6.
Check your lottery tickets because someone who purchased a ticket in Grey County is an overnight multi-millionaire, having won half of the historic lottery jackpot.
York Regional Police say two people are dead after a shooting at a park in the community of Keswick.
Police in Barrie are investigating a different type of porch piracy after a man was caught on camera walking off with some outdoor furniture.
Windsor police say a pedestrian was taken to hospital with serious injuries after getting hit by a vehicle in south Windsor.
Windsor police have arrested two suspects in connection to an attempted robbery with a weapon on Erie Street.
The federal government will be further limiting the number of international students permitted to enter Canada next year. It鈥檚 the government鈥檚 latest immigration-related measure to address Canadians' ongoing housing and affordability concerns.
TransLink says it is one step closer to meeting its net-zero emissions targets after converting its West Coast Express commuter trains between Vancouver and the Fraser Valley to renewable diesel fuel.
The Conservatives' first shot at toppling the Liberal government is doomed to fail, after Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Fran莽ois Blanchet told reporters his MPs will vote confidence in the government.
A B.C couple has been ordered to stop living in a motorhome on the property where their under-construction home 鈥 which they were first given a permit to build more than six years ago 鈥 has become an 鈥渆yesore,鈥 according to a recent court decision.
Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls 鈥 including one that gave birth to 10 puppies 鈥 from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.
More than a year after a missing Kamloops, B.C., woman鈥檚 body was found, her son has been arrested and charged with her murder, Mounties announced Friday.
A woman suffered life-threatening injuries after being stabbed during a home invasion in Kelowna, according to authorities.
The City of Lethbridge's encampment response team continues to see a rise in the number of people experiencing homelessness throughout the summer months.
Two 16-year-old boys have been charged with arson following a fire at a Lethbridge building earlier this month.
The City of Lethbridge says water usage this summer was lower than expected.
North Bay Police Service says one person has died following an industrial accident at the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission Rail Yard on Tuesday.
Three northern Ontario residents are charged with drug trafficking after the vehicle they were in got stuck along a bush road off Highway 17 on Monday.
A 50-year-old man in the Sault has been charged following an assault on Saturday that involved the use of a hammer.
Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
A 16-year-old biennial event aimed at fostering business in the country's eastern Arctic and northern regions has been cancelled indefinitely as a dispute unfolds between Inuit in Canada and a Labrador group claiming to share their heritage.
Jim Lester鈥檚 farm hopped on the cow-cuddling trend in early August, and his time slots have been pretty well sold out ever since.
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