Huw Edwards Charged with Making Indecent Images - What Will Happen Next?

This blog explains what an indecent image is, the categories of images and what the legal process is following charges being authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service. 

Indecent images of children are categorised into three levels of seriousness: 

Category A - Images involving penetrative sexual activity with a child, sexual activity with an animal or sadism

Category B - Images which portray sexual acts which are not penetrative. 

Category C - Sexualised images of a child, posing in a provocative way or wearing little to no clothing. 

Huw Edwards is alleged to have been in possession of all three categories in very low numbers. 

Most indecent image cases will be sent to the Crown Court for trial or sentence, this is because of the serious nature of them. Some Magistrates may accept jurisdiction in cases where there are a low number of images or the categories do not go beyond category B. In the case of Mr Edwards it is likely his case will be sent to the Crown Court because of the presence of category A images, and I do not doubt that there will be some persuasion for this case to be sent to the Crown Court because he is a public figure. 

A PTPH will require the accused to enter their plea again for the Crown Court record, and a date for trial will be set. In addition the judge will provide both the prosecution and the defence with dates to work towards for preparing for trial - they are referred to as stage dates. An important date for the defence is the date on which their defence case statement is due and their forensic report. 

It is a defence for the accused if they can show that they had no knowledge of the images recovered from their device/s. Or, when they clicked on a particular link or attachment they did not expect an indecent image to appear, for example; clicking a link to legal pornography in a chatroom only to find that alongside the legal pornography there is also illegal material. A common defence is one whereby defendants use torrent sites to download movies and TV programmes, what may be apparent to the user as a perfectly lawful film, could be covering an illegal file for which there can be no knowledge of. 

To assist a defendant in these circumstances an independent forensic expert report is crucial. The digital forensic examiner will be instructed by your solicitors to examine your devices for supporting evidence to strengthen and support your defence. 

At Eventum Legal we often instruct digital forensics in such cases, on the very basis that our client did not have the knowledge that indecent images had been downloaded to their device, we ask for an examination to take place which goes outside the parameters of what the police are likely to have done. We must remember the police are looking for evidence against you, once they have found this they are unlikely to then go looking for evidence to assist you in defending the case. 

We work with only the country's leading experts, having built relationships with them over many years we know exactly how to work together and what to look for to defend our client. 

Indecent image offences can carry lengthy terms of imprisonment but for first time offenders who have been in possession or made a relatively low number of images a custodial sentence is rare. The court will in most cases order a Pre Sentence Report, which will require the defendant to meet with an officer from the Probation Service to discuss their offending, personal circumstances and ways in which the offending can be addressed. The purpose of probation is to provide a sentencing recommendation to the court, but the court does not have to follow this. 

Making a category A image as a starting point of 1 year custody and a range of 26 weeks - 3 years imprisonment. In most cases the intrinsic character of the most serious of the offending images will initially determine the appropriate category within the sentencing guidelines. If, however, the most serious images are unrepresentative of the accused's conduct a lower category may be appropriate. For example; where the defendant has 500 category C images and 1 category A, the court is likely to put the starting point in the lower category range. 

The court will have regard to aggravating features present within the images, a few of which are:

• Age/vulnerability of child depicted – this is to be given significant weight and where age is not clear, consideration must be given to whether the infant, pre-pubescent or post-pubescent
• Discernible pain or distress suffered by the child depicted
• Moving images
• Child depicted known to the offender
• Child depicted intoxicated or drugged
• Large number of different victims

In addition to a potential custodial sentence, the accused would become subject to the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Register, and in most cases a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). 

There are ways in which defence lawyers can challenge the requirement of a SHPO but is is dependent upon the circumstances of the case and the defendant. See our SHPO page for more advice on this particular court order. 

In conclusion, the Huw Edwards Case although it will attract a vast amount of media coverage and outrage, it is very unlikely a custodial sentence will be imposed that is of course if he has a trial and is convicted of the offence. 

At Eventum Legal our team have over 15 years experience defending serious sexual offences including possession, making and distribution of indecent images of children. If you have been accused or charge with an offence then get in touch for a free initial consultation. We promise to deliver honest and realistic advice, with a view to guiding you correctly so that you can make the right decisions on how to proceed with your case.