Dylan Dawes, 50, denies three counts of possessing indecent images of children and three counts of making indecent images of children
The case is being heard at Cardiff Crown Court(Image: Media Wales)
A former producer for BBC Wales was found in possession of more than 6,000 indecent images of children on a number of devices, a court has heard. It is alleged that one of the search terms he used on the internet was “jailbait”.
Dylan Dawes, 50, is accused of three counts of possessing indecent images of children and three counts of making indecent images of children. The defendant denies the offences and told police he had not knowingly viewed or searched for indecent images, and denied having a sexual interest in children.
A trial at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday heard Dawes was arrested at his home in Cardiff on February 28, 2022, where four devices capable of accessing the internet were seized and examined. Make sure you never miss Wales’ biggest updates by getting our daily newsletter
These included a Freecom hard drive, a Compaq laptop, and two iPads.
Prosecutor Harry 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.”
The court heard Dawes was arrested and taken to Cardiff Bay police station where he was interviewed.
During his interview, the defendant denied possessing or making indecent images of children and said he was “not aware” of any such images on his devices.
He told officers his Gmail account had been suspended two weeks prior to his arrest, but he didn’t know why. Dawes said he looked at adult pornography but “not very often”.
Mr Baker said examination of the devices was carried out by the authorities and resulted in the discovery of indecent images of children.
These included seven category A images and 453 category C images which were still accessible.
There were 185 category A images, 97 category B images and more than 5,000 category C images which were not accessible.
The defendant was invited to attend a second police interview in December 2022, and made a prepared statement.
He said: “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 answered no questions to the remaining questions asked of him.
Mr Baker said officers asked the defendant about the search term “jail bait” found on the Compaq laptop, and a file path linked to a folder called “Dylan”.
The prosecutor added: “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 Heol Terrell, Canton, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images and three counts of making indecent images.
The trial continues.
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