Former BBC Producer Denies Possessing Child Abuse Images
A former BBC producer, Dylan Dawes, 50, from Cardiff, has asserted in court that he is the victim of "someone else looking at pornography" on his devices. Dawes faces six charges related to possessing or making indecent photographs of children after such images were discovered on four devices belonging to him.
Dawes explained that colleagues at BBC Wales' former headquarters in Llandaff frequently used each other's equipment, including his personal hard drive and laptop. In 2022, police seized these devices from his home, uncovering more than 6,200 indecent images of children, including nearly 200 category A images, the most serious classification.
Work Environment and Device Usage
At Cardiff Crown Court, it was revealed that Dawes had been employed at the BBC building since 2001, predominantly working in a large open-plan office. Dawes testified that staff members did not have assigned desks. Although he was issued a work laptop, which was uncommon at the time, he often brought personal devices from home for practical reasons, such as accessing software unavailable on his work computer.
These personal devices included a Compaq laptop and a Freecom hard drive, which were frequently left unattended in the office. Dawes stated that colleagues regularly used these devices to store or transfer data.
"Other people would use it, in the same way other people would use all of my kit,"
he said, adding that storerooms were filled with other employees' hard drives.
Dawes confirmed that an older personal iPad had "definitely" been taken to the office, but he did not believe the newer iPad had been brought in.
Denial of Interest in Child Pornography
During his testimony, Andrew Taylor, defending, questioned Dawes about any interest in child pornography. Dawes responded:
"Absolutely not."
He acknowledged viewing "adult heterosexual pornography" on a family iPad but stated he cleared the search history because the device was also used by his children.
When asked if he had any idea how the indecent images might have appeared on his devices, Dawes replied:
"I have no idea."
He further denied being able to identify anyone responsible:
"Absolutely not."
Police Interview and Account Suspension
During cross-examination, prosecutor Harry Baker questioned Dawes about his police interview, where he stated he was "not aware" of viewing indecent images rather than outright denying it.
"That was the correct language [to use],"
Dawes explained, adding that the situation was "extraordinarily stressful at the time."
Dawes denied searching the term "jailbait" on his laptop and said he had "never" seen pictures of underage girls while browsing adult pornography websites.
The court heard that a Gmail account belonging to Dawes was suspended approximately three to four weeks before his arrest on 28 February 2022. Officers referenced this email address upon arriving at his home.
Baker asked if the suspension prompted Dawes to "try and delete everything," to which Dawes responded:
"No, that's not correct."
When questioned if he realized something was wrong when the account was suspended, Dawes said:
"No, because there was nothing on that account."
Device Usage and Trust Among Colleagues
Dawes stated that although he initially purchased the Freecom hard drive, it "became a work hard drive by default" due to frequent use by colleagues. He described an element of "trust" among staff who shared equipment, clarifying:
"I'm not saying that was company policy, I'm just saying that's what people did to get their job done."
He added that devices were often left unattended in the office or even taken out of the building.
When asked if he had ever seen the indecent images found in the hard drive's recycle bin, Dawes replied:
"Absolutely not."
Baker noted the images were in Dawes' recycle bin and questioned whether it was an unfortunate coincidence that indecent images were found on four of his devices. Dawes agreed it was unfortunate but rejected the suggestion that someone else might have placed them there.
"No, I would not, because I did not put them there,"
he said.
Baker then asked if Dawes was the victim of someone else viewing pornography on his devices, to which Dawes responded:
"Most definitely, yes."
Asked why he had not attempted to identify who might be responsible, Dawes said it would be "pure speculation" and that he would not "start throwing names around."
Baker suggested Dawes was bluffing due to lack of answers, but Dawes denied this:
"I'm not trying to bluff my way out of anything."
When confronted with the accusation of downloading and viewing child pornography, Dawes stated:
"That's categorically not true."
Witness Testimony on Office Practices
Joseph Gooden, a former BBC employee from 2000 to 2016 who shared an office with Dawes, testified that he did not recall having a dedicated hard drive during that period. He said employees often "mucked in and grabbed what we needed" for projects.
When asked about policies regarding locking or password-protecting hard drives, Gooden said:
"In around 2014 we had a discussion about [it], but it was absolutely new to all of us at the time."
Forensic Analysis
Forensic technology expert Jordan Myhill, who examined Dawes' four devices, confirmed a Google search for the term "jailbait" had been made on the laptop, but no timestamp was recorded.
Defending counsel Taylor noted that Myhill would be familiar with common search terms related to child abuse images and observed:
"None of them appear to be on these computers, do they?"
