THERE HAS been consternation in the UK as a magistrate agreed to try disgraced BBC presenter Huw Edwards as a ‘wealthy person in the public’ eye ahead of his sentencing for possession of indecent images of children which resulted in no custodial sentence being handed down.
Being in receipt of 41 illegal images from a convicted pedophile may have resulted in some members of the public expecting a lengthy prison sentence however in sentencing Edwards at Westminster Magistrates Court the chief magistrate invoked sentencing guidelines that pertain to high profile individuals who ordinarily deem themselves above suffering the consequences of their actions.
“‘First offence is free’ as the legal theory we’re all familiar with goes,” explained the magistrate in handing out a six month sentence suspended for two years.
“Pleading guilty is one thing, but when you plead guilty as a person of once high esteem well I think the least they can do is build a statue in commemoration of such humble acceptance of guilt,” said one law expert.
The magistrate added that sending Edwards to jail would result in him being at risk of attack by other inmates on account of being a pedophile, and that doing so would send the wrong message to criminals everywhere that if they commit crimes it might be ‘a bit shit in prison’.
UPDATE: The timing of Edwards being able to walk out of the courts a free man couldn’t have come at a better time as Strictly Come Dancing could really do with a ratings boost.
