The Police have asked the BBC to interrupt its investigation into the sexual scandal involving one of its main presenters, whose identity has not been revealed, while detectives investigate this matter, the station said in a statement released on Tuesday.
The public broadcaster is embroiled in a huge scandal after the tabloid The Sun published that a presenter allegedly paid large sums of money to a teenager when he was a minor to send him sexual photographs.
The BBC issued a statement today in which it provides details on the way in which it addressed the case, after the young man’s mother -whose identity has not been revealed either- denounced that a presenter paid her son for sexual images, money that the boy used to finance his crack addiction.
A BBC investigation team, indicates the note, had a meeting yesterday with the Police after The Sun published that the presenter allegedly paid more than 35,000 pounds (40,000 euros) to the minor from the time he was 17 to the age of 20 – her current age – in exchange for the photos with sexual connotations.
The tabloid published the story based on the statements made by the young man’s mother, who also said that she had contacted the chain last May to denounce the presenter, but he continued working.
The presenter, whose name cannot be released for legal reasons, has been suspended by the BBC while its director general, Tim Davie, has ordered a review of its protocols around receiving complaints and allegations.
After the meeting with the Police, “the BBC has been asked to stop its investigations into the accusations while the Police evaluate the work,” the note said.
“The BBC have processes and protocols in place for receiving information and handling complaints when they are first made. We always take these matters very seriously and try to manage them with due care. The events of the last few days have shown just how complex and challenging these cases can be and how vital it is that they are handled with the utmost diligence and care,” the statement added.
The BBC has also indicated that a member of the young man’s family complained for the first time on May 18, when they went to a chain building.
Details of the complaints were forwarded to the BBC’s Corporate Investigations Team, who assessed that the complaints did not include an allegation of crime.
The station adds that subsequent attempts to contact the complainant were unsuccessful, but the case remained open.
BBC director-general Tim Davie said today he has decided to review the way some complaints the organization receives are assessed, acknowledging that there are “lessons to be learned about how procedures can be improved”.
Asked about the support offered by the BBC to the presenter, Davie stated that the corporation has a “duty of care” for the worker, something that he considered “a very important factor” to take into account.
“If you look at the enormity of the coverage and everything that’s going on, I’m very sensitive to that. I think the duty of care in these types of matters is critical and also goes beyond the people who are at the center of the drama.” , he pointed out.
The young man’s lawyers issued a letter last night to say that the accusations contained in The Sun newspaper, drawn up from his mother’s complaints, were “garbage”.
Even so, The Sun has defended its article and has assured that it has proof of what happened. According to that newspaper, the young man’s mother was able to see the BBC star in his underwear in a video “ready for my son to perform for him.”
