A British pedophile cop has been jailed after grooming 210 minors into sending explicit images to him on Snapchat.
Lewis Edwards blackmailed and groomed young victims aged between 10 and 16.
The 24-year-old police officer threatened to share the images and tell his victim’s family and friends if they failed to comply.
The 24-year-old threatened to share the images and tell their family and friends if they failed to comply with his sexual demands.
Edwards reportedly begged one of his victims not to report him, saying: “Please don’t say anything. I won’t share them. I won’t do anything”.
He has now been jailed for life with a minimum of 12 years after admitting 138 child sex offenses and 22 counts of blackmail.
He also pleaded guilty to refusing to disclose the password to a mobile phone and USB stick.
Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke said Edwards “groomed his victims psychologically, manipulating them until he had gained control.”
Cardiff Crown Court heard all but one of his 210 victims suffered abuse over a three-year period while he was a serving officer with South Wales Police.
As The Nation Pulse reported, Edwards was found to have over 4,500 indecent images of children aged between 10 and 16, and to have issued threats to his victims, including exposing the images or endangering their families if they resisted his demands.
He told victims to write ‘Snapgod’ on their bodies on multiple occasions, in reference to a child pornography distributor from whom he had purchased material using cryptocurrency.
Edwards would also send back videos of himself performing a sex act and encourage his victims to do the same.
He would also make his victims write “Snapgod” – a distributor of child sex abuse images – on their bodies.
The cop even threatened to bomb the house of one teen and shoot her parents if she stopped sending him images.
In one video, a teenage girl could be seen crying and wiping tears from her eyes.
The Mirror reported:
One of his victims bravely told the court how she felt “terrified” by Edwards’ threats after believing at first she was speaking to a “really nice boy.”
Her mum, who also read out a statement, said:
“We cannot get our head around the fact that somebody who was there to protect you could do this.
“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.”
One count of failing to disclose a key, namely a personal identification number or password of protected information.
Another victim said how she is no longer a smiley person and instead never wants to go out and feels like she is “always panicking.”
While one girl added:
“I hate him, he’s horrible. I don’t know how someone could do this to me.”
The mum of a victim choked back tears as she revealed her daughter had started self-harming as a result.
She said: “Lewis Edwards, I want you to know what you have done to my child and my family. You have broken us.
“You have broken her to the point she didn’t want to live anymore. I want the court to understand the irreparable damage you have caused us all.”
READ: Federal Investigation Uncovers Disturbing ‘Satanic’ Pedophile Cult Targeting Kids
