An unnamed male BBC employee has been suspended following allegations a presenter paid a teenager for sexually explicit images.
It followed reports on Friday from the mother of the alleged victim, claiming her child was paid more than £35,000 for sexually explicit pictures.
She claims the alleged victim used the money to fund an addiction to crack cocaine and blames the presenter for ‘destroying her child’s life’.
It is claimed the alleged victim was just 17 years old when the interactions started and is now 20.
The mother of the anonymous accuser alleged the unnamed BBC presenter stripped to his underwear during a video call with her then teenage child.
Here is a round up of the timeline of the scandal so far, including a male employee’s suspension, celeb denials and the police involvement.
The mother of the alleged victim claimed to The Sun that her teenager was given £35,000 in return for explicit images from when they were 17.
She says the alleged victim used the money to fund a crack cocaine addiction.
‘One time he had sent £5,000 in one lump. The money had been in exchange for sexually explicit photographs of my child,’ the furious mother told publication.
The teen, who is remaining anonymous, allegedly went from a ‘happy-go-lucky’ teen to a ‘ghost-like’ addict in just a number of years.
It’s believed that the family of the concerned recipient approached the BBC on May 19 and it is alleged that they pleaded with the corporation to beg the man to ‘stop sending cash’.
‘I blame this BBC man for destroying my child’s life,’ they added. The messages are said to have started in 2020 and the man behind sending the images refrained from protecting his identity, as well as allegedly sending images of himself at his place of work.
The mother continued: ‘I was shocked to see a picture of him sitting on a sofa in his house in his underwear. I immediately recognised him, he was leaning forward getting ready for my child to perform for him. My child told me, ‘I have shown things’ and this was a picture from some kind of video call.’
Why hasn’t the suspended presenter been named?
The allegation involves a potential crime with a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. It is a crime to take, make, share and possess indecent images of people under 18.
That means if the presenter is proved innocent, alleging they had committed such a crime could be libellous.
Secondly, until someone is arrested and then charged, they can have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
Although the male presenter has now been suspended by the BBC, neither the BBC or The Sun have confirmed the name.
In a note sent to staff, Tim Davie said: ‘By law, individuals are entitled to a reasonable expectation of privacy, which is making this situation more complex.’
BBC News has since shared an insight into how they navigate and report on stories about BBC employees and internal matters.
‘With stories like this one, BBC News journalists treat the BBC in the same way as any other organisation the news service reports on,’ the BBC writes within their report on the suspension of the unnamed male presenter.
‘And like with any other organisation, BBC News has to ask BBC management or BBC services for responses and contact the BBC press office for official statements.
‘Occasionally BBC journalists approach senior managers for unplanned interviews – known as ‘doorsteps’ in the news business.’
It adds: ‘They also sometimes also get offered interviews with management – like this one with BBC Director General Tim Davie over the Gary Lineker row. And when this happens, they know they’ll be scrutinised within and outside the BBC over how well they hold their boss to account.’
