BBC Presenter Suspended After Claims He Paid Teenager For Sex Pictures – Deadline

A high BBC presenter has been suspended amid allegations he paid an adolescent tens of hundreds of kilos for specific photos.

The company introduced the suspension in a press release on Sunday afternoon UK time, however didn’t title the person on the coronary heart of the allegations.

The BBC can also be in dialogue with the Metropolitan Police in regards to the problem. Deadline understands that the BBC was in contact with police earlier than The Solar revealed allegations in regards to the unnamed star on Friday.

The British tabloid newspaper reported that the high-profile star paid an adolescent greater than £35,000 ($45,000) in return for specific photos. The exchanges allegedly date again to 2020 when {the teenager} was aged 17.

It’s unlawful within the UK “to make, distribute, possess or present any indecent photos of anybody aged below 18, even when the content material was created with the consent of that younger particular person.”

The BBC has confronted severe questions in current hours about why it didn’t take motion sooner in opposition to the thriller presenter.

The mom of {the teenager} concerned advised The Solar that she complained to the BBC on Could 19, however the presenter continued to host high-profile output till final week.

In its assertion, the company appeared to handle this, saying that the allegations reported by The Solar had been of a “completely different nature” to the grievance it obtained in Could.

In a press release, the BBC mentioned: “The BBC takes any allegations severely and now we have strong inside processes in place to proactively take care of such allegations.

“This can be a complicated and fast paced set of circumstances and the BBC is working as shortly as potential to determine the info with the intention to correctly inform acceptable subsequent steps.

“It will be significant that these issues are dealt with pretty and with care. Now we have been clear that if – at any level – new data involves mild or is offered to us, this shall be acted upon appropriately and actively adopted up.

“The BBC first grew to become conscious of a grievance in Could. New allegations had been put to us on Thursday of a unique nature and along with our personal enquiries now we have additionally been in contact with exterior authorities, according to our protocols.

“We are able to additionally affirm a male member of workers has been suspended. We count on to be ready to supply an extra replace within the coming days as the method continues. The BBC Board will proceed to be saved updated.”

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