A BBC producer who downloaded more than 6,000 indecent images of children has avoided prison after claiming he had 'no idea' where they came from. Dylan Dawes, 50, sustained a 22-year career at the broadcaster before his arrest in 2022. Officers searched his home and found indecent images on four devices, including a hard drive, laptop, and two iPads.
He was found guilty at Cardiff Crown Court last month of three counts of possessing an indecent image of a child and three counts of making an indecent image of a child. Dawes has now been spared jail after a judge sentenced him to 18 months imprisonment, suspended for two years.
The producer, who worked with presenters including Final Score host Jason Mohammad and comedian Rhod Gilbert, told the court he had 'fairly regularly' viewed 'adult pornography' but denied having downloaded indecent images of children. Harry Baker, prosecuting, said the images had been found on four of Dawes's devices, which were sometimes left overnight at the BBC's Cardiff headquarters, and it was unlikely this was an 'unhappy coincidence'.
While at work, Dawes said he would not take his computer with him to the studio, instead leaving it at his desk for 'extended periods of time' where it was freely available to colleagues. He had been on a family holiday to Disneyland Paris in February 2022 and arrived home in Canton, Cardiff, at around 1am. He was woken by police at 7am and taken for questioning.
After his arrest, he said he was suspended on full pay and signed off sick with 'stress', adding he did not investigate who else may have used his devices. Dawes was one of hundreds of staff at the BBC Wales building in Cardiff, which opened in 2020.
Prosecuting, Harry Baker previously said: 'During a period of time of about 16 years between December 31, 2006, and March 1, 2022, the defendant has been downloading child pornography, that is indecent images on four different and distinct computer devices he owned.' He added Dawes claimed he had loaned an iPad to a colleague 'for purely work-related purposes'.
During a police interview, Dawes gave a prepared statement saying: 'I have no knowledge of any indecent images on my devices. I have never been in possession of any indecent images. I have never knowingly used, accessed, downloaded or sought indecent images of children. I have no sexual attraction to children. I have downloaded regular pornography with zip or jpegs. All devices have at times been left for extended periods in open plan offices.'
Andrew Taylor, defending, said Dawes was of 'good character' and described him as an intelligent man who would have known to dispose of any evidence rather than move images into the easily accessible bin on his devices. 'He didn't get rid of it because he had no reason to believe that there was any imagery on his devices that was incriminatory,' Mr Taylor said.
The court heard Dawes had 'no idea' how the images were downloaded and denied having used the search term 'jailbait', suggesting someone else may have accessed the devices. Sentencing, Judge Eugene Egan said: 'You have paid and you will continue to pay a heavy price for what you did. The public humiliation has been, and will continue to be, significant. The ball is now in your court to ensure that you stay out of trouble - I'm confident that you will.'
The judge added Dawes had sought to blame 'anyone and everyone' who had access to the former BBC offices in Llandaff, casting suspicion over many of his former colleagues. Dawes joined the BBC while living in London in 2000 and started his job at BBC Wales after moving to Cardiff in 2001, where he worked as a producer on radio shows and podcasts.
The 50-year-old, of Canton, Cardiff, was suspended from his job at the BBC after his arrest and is no longer employed by the broadcaster. Mr Taylor had argued Dawes did not 'shy away' from the findings of the court. He said: 'This is a 50-year-old man who has never been before the court in his life. This is a man who has lost everything. He is coming to terms with his offending and he will try his level best to rehabilitate.'
Judge Egan said the jury had reached their decision 'on what they found to be absolutely overwhelming evidence'. Dawes must now register as a sex offender.
