Mum 'immediately recognised' BBC presenter who allegedly asked for nude photos in exchange for cash
A mum 'immediately recognised' the BBC presenter who allegedly asked for nude photos from her teenage son in exchange for cash.
In a report released by The Sun newspaper last week, a BBC male presenter is said to have paid a teenager tens of thousands of pounds for photographs, starting when they were just 17 years old.
The mother of the alleged victim told the outlet that her child, now 20, had used the money from the presenter to fund a drug habit.
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She claimed her son had gone from a 'happy-go-lucky youngster to a ghost-like crack addict' in just three years.
The family is said to have complained to the BBC on 19 May, but later went to The Sun after becoming frustrated that the star remained on air.
"I was shocked to see a picture of him sitting on a sofa in his house in his underwear," the mother told the outlet.
"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."
The BBC has since issued a statement confirming that a 'male member of staff' has now been suspended over the recent allegations.
In a full statement, the BBC said: "The BBC takes any allegations seriously and we have robust internal processes in place to proactively deal with such allegations.
"This is a complex and fast moving set of circumstances and the BBC is working as quickly as possible to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps.
"It is important that these matters are handled fairly and with care.
"We have been clear that if - at any point - new information comes to light or is provided to us, this will be acted upon appropriately and actively followed up.
"The BBC first became aware of a complaint in May.
"New allegations were put to us on Thursday (6 July) of a different nature and in addition to our own enquiries we have also been in touch with external authorities, in line with our protocols.
"We can also confirm a male member of staff has been suspended.
"We expect to be in a position to provide a further update in the coming days as the process continues. The BBC Board will continue to be kept up to date."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-2pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111.
Rhiannon Ingle