Record details
A police officer who blackmailed and threatened underage girls to send him explicit photos of themselves on Snapchat has been jailed for life.
Lewis Edwards, of Cefn Glas, Bridgend, groomed more than 200 girls online.
The 24-year-old, who had 4,500 indecent images of children, admitted 160 counts of child sexual abuse and blackmail.
The South Wales Police officer 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, who refused to go to Cardiff Crown Court throughout his three-day sentencing hearing, joined the force as a police constable in January 2021 but is now barred from policing.
Handing him multiple concurrent prison sentences, including several life sentences with a minimum term of 12 years, Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke said: "It is clear that he not only gained sexual gratification from his offending but he also enjoyed the power and control he had over these young girls."
Edwards will also be subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order, barring him from working with children or vulnerable people and requiring him to keep his personal details logged with police.
She described his behaviour as "cruel and sadistic" and "psychologically manipulative", adding that he posed a high risk of danger to children.
"Even when his victims were crying, begging him to stop, the defendant did not stop even though he could be in no doubt about the immense harm he was causing his victims," she said.
Edwards used a profile picture of a teenage boy to trick his victims into sending explicit images, with one saying that during video calls Edwards would sit in the dark, showing only part of his face.
The young girls were told by Edwards to take nude pictures, sometimes wearing only items of their school uniform, and perform sexual acts.
When they tried to ignore his demands he threatened them and said he would share the images he already had, or said he would hurt their families.
Prosecutor Roger Griffiths said one 12-year-old victim was told by Edwards he could "come to her house and shoot her parents".
Edwards installed a "legitimate application" which allowed him to record images sent to him by the girls on Snapchat, without their knowledge.
In an audio recording played in court, Edwards could be heard saying "I wish I could just watch these forever" as he watched sexual videos sent to him by a 13-year-old.
In another video, a girl was audibly distressed and could be heard saying "do I have to?" and "I feel forced".
Mr Griffiths said Edwards received images from girls while on duty at least 30 times.
Among his victims were two sisters, aged 13 and 15. The younger sister sent images of her bottom and breasts and a video of her performing a sexual act.
In a victim statement, one girl said: "I was only a little girl. I feel confused, embarrassed, disgusted and I have no self esteem. I lost my innocence. I felt guilty and I still struggle to trust people."
Another victim, who was 13 when Edwards contacted her, told the court the contact began when she was about to start at a new school.
"I was vulnerable because I really wanted to make new friends. I thought I was talking to a really nice boy who liked me lots," she said.
Edwards would tell the girls stories about bad things happening in his life to "guilt trip" them, Mr Griffiths added.
Judge Lloyd-Clarke said Edwards' crimes were "significantly aggravated" by the fact he was a police officer.
She added: "There is no doubt that his actions have caused significant harm to the reputation of South Wales Police and police in general.
"But it should also be borne in mind that it was officers from South Wales Police who investigated this case."
South Wales Police said its investigation into the case began in December 2022 when the force was made aware of suspicious online banking activity linked to the downloading of indecent images of children from the dark web.
Officers linked an IP address to Edwards' address and, after his home was searched, victims were identified through Snapchat usernames, despite Edwards refusing to provide pin codes to two of his devices.
South Wales Police Assistant Chief Constable Daniel Richards said Edwards' crimes were "despicable".
"The public will be as shocked and sickened as we are that such appalling offences were committed by a serving police officer," he added.
"As soon as we knew the offender was a serving police officer, Edwards was suspended and sacked."
He also said that vetting of Edwards at the time of him joining the force did not indicate anything to suggest the "abhorrent offences".
Lucy Dowdall of the Crown Prosecution Service said Edwards targeted vulnerable children and "ruined their lives".
Just one victim was found by Edwards directly through his role as a police officer whom he messaged after responding to a 999 call and noting her as a "vulnerable girl" in his paperwork.
Snapchat said: "Any sexual exploitation of young people is abhorrent and illegal and our hearts go out to the victims in this case."
The company said it "works in multiple ways to detect and prevent this type of abuse" including recently adding new pop-up warnings for teenagers who may have been contacted by someone they do not know.
The NSPCC called the case "incredibly distressing" and "deeply concerning".
