25 October 2023 , 11:57
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The victims of Snapchat pervert police officer Lewis Edwards have spoken out in court today, issuing heartbreaking statements.
The vile copper has been jailed for life with a minimum of 12 years in jail after he was found guilty of grooming over 200 girls - all but one of which took place when he was a police officer, serving with South Wales Police. Over three years, the sick pervert would often pose as a young teenage boy to approach and groom his victims, Cardiff Crown Court heard today.
Edwards, 24, was described as "cruel and sadistic" in court by Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke, who said he gained "sadistic enjoyment" from the distress he caused his young victims. He would blackmail them into sending him increasingly explicit material and regularly threatened them as well.
The vile abuser, of Heol Ty Cribwr, Cefn Glas, Bridgend, was said to pose a high risk to young children and previously pleaded guilty to 161 offences, including blackmail, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, making a child watch a sex act, demanding indecent images of children, and making indecent images of children.
Vile abuser Edwards groomed over 200 girls during his time as a police officer (South Wales Police)He refused to appear in court for the second and third day of his sentencing hearing. Today, as cowardly Edwards sat in a cell, some of his victims bravely spoke out in court, as did the mothers of others. They heartbreakingly told how he had impacted their lives, and shattered their trust in the police. One teenage girl addressed the judge, as several mothers, whose children's lives had been forever changed by Edwards, listened on.
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She 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 mother 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 of Edwards’s victims said: “Before this I had stuff going on with my mental health which was getting better, but this happened and it started to get worse again. I felt worse than I was before.”
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 said: “I hate him, he’s horrible. I don’t know how someone could do this to me.” One mother told the judge: “I feel I’ve lost a small part of my baby girl. Her innocence has been torn from her and she will never get it back. I’m not sure any of us will 100% trust the police again.”
One parent choked back tears in court as she told the judge her daughter had started self-harming. “Lewis Edwards, I want you to know what you have done to my child and my family. You have broken us,” she said. “You have broken her to the point she didn’t want to live any more. I want the court to understand the irreparable damage you have caused us all.”
Another mother said: “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.”
Edwards being interviewed by police (South Wales Police)A mother said her daughter loved socialising with her friends through social media and Edwards’ crimes had changed that. “I totally underestimated the delicate balance between safety and privacy, and danger and abuse,” she said.
“She is a victim and although I do blame myself for not protecting her she was a 12-year-old girl whose innocence was violated through no fault of her own. She has a right to be safe online.”
One teenager was revising for her GCSEs when she fell victim to Edwards. “Her behaviour did change, she was very angry, short-tempered and generally not herself,” her mother said. “The guilt she feels about not telling someone sooner and (she) worries she could have stopped him from targeting other young people.”
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Others chose to have their victim impact statements read out by prosecutor Roger Griffiths. While reading one statement from a mother, Mr Griffiths became choked with emotion and had to take a break before continuing. “As a family we have had our fair share of heartache and tragedy but nothing can ever compare to this,” the mother said.
“As a family we have struggled with news of my declining physical health. I am in the process of undergoing medical treatment and time is extremely precious. The last few months should have been a time I can make memories and spend quality time with my children. It’s been taken away from us. The emotional pain I have endured has impacted my declining physical health.
Cowardly Edwards sat in his cell and refused to face his victims for two days of his sentencing hearing (Media Wales)“Lewis Edwards has taken everything from us, he’s taken the innocence of my beautiful little girl, he’s taking precious family time we should be spending together and taken away our emotional and physical wellbeing of both of us as parents. I’d like the court to understand life will never be the same for us again. The impact of this offence is very real and life-changing.”
Assistant chief constable Danny Richards said: “The crimes committed by Lewis Edwards are despicable and the public will be as shocked and sickened as we are that such appalling offences were committed by a serving police officer. As soon as we knew the offender was a serving police officer, Edwards was suspended and sacked at a misconduct hearing which was held at the very earliest opportunity to remove him from policing.
“His behaviour only serves to damage the public’s trust and confidence in policing and undermines the work of the responsible, hard-working police officers who serve the communities of South Wales with courage and pride. There is no place in South Wales Police for anyone who abuses the personal responsibility they hold as a police officer.
“I understand there will be people asking how Edwards could have joined the police at the same time he was committing these terrible crimes. At the time of him joining South Wales Police his vetting was clear and there was nothing to indicate that he was involved in such abhorrent offences against children.
“Our number one priority is to protect the public so if anyone has any information about the safety of young or vulnerable people or those who pose a risk in our society then I urge them to come forward and report it to us. I am grateful for the work of our investigation team who have brought Edwards to justice and ensured his victims have been protected from further harm.”
A Snapchat spokesperson said: “Any sexual exploitation of young people is abhorrent and illegal and our hearts go out to the victims in this case. We work in multiple ways to detect and prevent this type of abuse including using cutting-edge detection technology, and we work with police to support investigations. We have extra protections for under 18s and recently added a new pop-up warning for teens if they are contacted by someone who they don't know. Our Family Centre allows parents to see who their teens are talking to.”