LONDON, Sept 17, (AP): 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’ 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. He will be listed on a sex offenders register for seven years.

"It is not an exaggeration to say your long-earned reputation is in tatters,” 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 ($263,000) 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’s 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 "category A” - the most indecent - with children estimated to be between 13 and 15. One child was aged between 7 and 9. In chats with Alex Williams, who was later convicted of distributing child sex abuse images, Edwards was asked if he wanted sexual images of a person whose "age could be discerned as being between 14 and 16,” and Edwards replied, "yes xxx,” prosecutor Ian Hope said.

"From that chat in December 2020, Alex Williams said that he had ‘a file of vids and pics for you of someone special,’” 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 a video in February 2021 that involved two children, one possibly as young as seven and the other no older than 13, involving penetration, Hope said. Edwards did not respond, but when asked by Williams if the material was too young, he said, "don’t send underage.” He also said he didn’t want him to send anything illegal.

Defense lawyer Philip Evans said Edwards was "truly sorry” for the offenses and the damage he had done to his family. "He 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,” 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’t saved them or sent them to anyone.

Hope said Edwards paid Williams "not insignificant sums of money,” as gifts that Williams used while studying at a university. At one point, Williams asked for a "Christmas gift after all the hot videos” he had sent. Edwards remarked that some of the images were "amazing,” 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.