Steve Perkins@Perky_43
🚨 FORMER BBC PRODUCER AVOIDS JAIL AFTER DOWNLOADING CHILD ABUSE AND CHILD RÀPE IMAGES
⚠️ DYLAN DAWES, 50
🌍 CARDIFF
A former BBC producer has avoided prison after being convicted of downloading child abuse and child rape images.
Dylan Dawes, 50, who began his career with the BBC in 2000, had over 6,000 indecent images of children on his devices when they were confiscated by police.
Dawes refuted having a sexual interest in children and suggested that someone else might have used the devices, which were occasionally left overnight at the BBC's Cardiff HQ.
In April, at Cardiff Crown Court, he was found guilty of three counts of possessing an indecent image of a child, and three counts of making an indecent image of a child, relating to more than 6,000 images discovered on his devices.
On Thursday, at Newport Crown Court, Dawes received an 18-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.
Judge Egan stated: "You have paid and you will continue to pay a heavy price for what you did. The public humiliation has been, and will continue to be, significant. The ball is now in your court to ensure that you stay out of trouble – I'm confident that you will."
Judge Egan said Dawes had tried to point the finger at "anyone and everyone" who had access to the former BBC offices in Llandaff, casting doubt on many of his ex-colleagues.
Dawes joined the BBC while residing in London in 2000 and began his role at BBC Wales after relocating to Cardiff in 2001, where he worked as a producer on radio shows and podcasts.
The court was told that he was arrested in 2022 after police searched his Cardiff home, discovering indecent images on four devices, including a hard drive, laptop and two iPads.
Dawes, who had worked alongside presenters such as Jason Mohammad and Rhod Gilbert, informed the court that he had "fairly regularly" viewed "adult pornography" but refuted any claims of downloading indecent images of children.
The court was informed that he had "no idea" how the images were downloaded and denied using the search term "jailbait", suggesting that someone else might have accessed the devices.
Harry Baker, prosecuting, stated that the images had been discovered on four of Dawes' devices and it was improbable that this was an "unhappy coincidence".
Dawes, from Canton, Cardiff, was suspended from his role at the BBC following his arrest and is no longer employed by the broadcaster.
