British police officer Lewis Edwards, 24, has been handed a so-called life sentence for grooming more than 200 girls online and persuading them to share explicit images – though he will be eligible for release in just 12 years.
Edwards, who provided a false identity as a 14-year-old boy on Snapchat, was serving with South Wales Police force as he was grooming his victims. They included girls he made contact with during his work hours, with one instance involving a girl he met during his official duties.
Edwards was found to have over 4,500 indecent images of children aged between 10 and 16, and to have issued threats to his victims, including exposing the images or endangering their families if they resisted his demands. He told victims to write ‘Snapgod’ on their bodies on multiple occasions, in reference to a child pornography distributor from whom he had purchased material using cryptocurrency.
Edwards pleaded guilty to 161 offenses, including blackmail and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
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