Police officer who groomed girls jailed for minimum of 12 years | UK News
Paedophile police officer Lewis Edwards, 24, who incited more than 200 young girls to send him degrading pictures and videos of themselves over Snapchat has been jailed.
Edwards has been jailed at Cardiff Crown Court for life with a minimum term of 12 years.
Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke imposed 13 life sentences on Lewis Edwards and ordered him to serve a minimum of 12 years in prison.
She told the court: ‘Many of his victims and their families said his actions have caused them to lose trust in the police.
‘There is no doubt he has caused significant harm to the reputation of South Wales Police and policing in general but it should also be borne in mind that it was officers from South Wales Police who investigated this case and brought this defendant to justice.’
Edwards had 4,500 indecent images of children and admitted 160 counts of child sex abuse and blackmail.
He messaged 210 girls aged 10 to 16 from November 2020 until February 2023 and images of 207 of them were found on his devices.
Edwards joined the force in January 2021 and refused to go into the courtroom for his three-day sentencing.
The 24-year-old threatened to bomb the house of one of his victims and shoot her parents if she didn’t stop sending him pictures, the court was told.
Many of his victims suffered as a consequence of his actions. One had to sleep with a hammer under her pillow while others suffered with self-harming, feeling suicidal and developing anxiety and depression.
A parent choked back tears in court as she told the judge her daughter had started self-harming.
In a victim impact statement, one of the girls who described Edwards as a ‘paedophile’ said: ‘I was a little girl. I feel embarrassed, disgusted and abused. I lost my innocence.
‘I know the police are there to help us but how can I call the police now if I am in danger? I would not be able to trust the people who are there to keep us safe.’
One teenager said: ‘Before all this I was not like this, I was an anxious person and always smiling. I’m not like that now.
‘It’s affected my relationship with friends as I don’t want to go out, it’s had a massive effect on my life… I feel like I am always panicking.’
Another girl impacted said: ‘You are supposed to trust the police and he did this to me. I really hate him for what he has done.’
A teenager directly addressed Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke and said: ‘I want my voice to be heard, this is who I am.
‘I thought I was talking to a really nice boy who liked me, complimented me, and made me feel good about myself.
‘I told him I didn’t want to send images any more and he blackmailed me by threatening me and my family. I felt terrified, horror and let down.’
Her mum added: ‘The smirk he gave us in court shows that he has no remorse. I do not think he can or will have any understanding or care how he has impacted his victims.
‘Lewis Edwards, I want you to know that as a family we will never forgive you and we feel nothing for you but hate.’
Another mum emotionally added: ‘On numerous occasions I know she contemplated suicide and still refers to those dark times when she felt hollow and worthless.
‘I find it incomprehensible an individual is capable of creating such fear and torment of a child.
‘I can only conclude Lewis Edwards is a broken human being. This man took my daughter’s innocence for life. She’s lost her sparkle.’
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