BBC producer discovered with hundreds of indecent photos of kids tells courtroom he left gadgets ‘for prolonged durations in open plan workplaces’
A former BBC producer has denied possessing or making indecent images of children after thousands of images that it is alleged were found on four devices that belonged to him.
Dylan Dawes, 50, told police he had ‘no knowledge’ of the images and had left his laptops and iPads in the BBC office ‘for extended periods of time’, a court heard.
A jury at Cardiff Crown Court heard were told that more than 6,200 images had been found or recovered, including 192 Category A images.
Dawes, who was working for BBC Wales in Cardiff, denies downloaded thousands of illegal images of children on four separate devices.
Prosecutor Harry Baker told the jury that Dawes had began working at the BBC in 2001 and was a producer at BBC Wales.
Mr Baker said: ‘During a period of time of about 16 years between December 31, 2006, and March 1, 2022, the defendant has been downloading child pornography, that is indecent images on four different and distinct computer devices he owned.’
Dylan Dawes, 50, was working for BBC Wales in Cardiff when he allegedly downloaded thousands of illegal images of children on four separate devices
Cardiff Crown Court heard Dawes began working at the BBC in 2001 and was a producer at BBC Wales
The seized devices included a Freecom hard drive, a Compaq laptop, and two iPads.
Mr Baker said that when he was arrested, Dawes denied possessing or making any indecent images of children.
He said he had loaned an iPad to a colleague ‘for purely work-related purposes’.
At a second interview, Dawes gave police a prepared statement, saying: ‘I have no knowledge of any indecent images on my devices. I have never been in possession of any indecent images.
‘I have never knowingly used, accessed, downloaded or sought indecent images of children. I have no sexual attraction to children.
‘I have downloaded regular pornography with zip or jpegs. All devices have at times been left for extended periods in open plan offices.’
Dawes refused to answer questions from police – including on how one of his devices contained child abuse images, despite it not leaving his house.
He said: ‘He was specifically asked if he knew who had been using his devices to download child pornography onto his devices, and if he could please share details of those persons so they could be investigated.
‘He denied being responsible for the making of those images.’
Dawes, of Canton, Cardiff, pleaded not guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images and three counts of making indecent images.
The trial continues.
