[Russ]

I’m no expert on these kinds of things but from what I’ve been told anecdotally by police from the hunting stuff if someone sends you an illegal image, whether you requested it or not, whether you kept it or not, if you view the image you’ve committed an offence. Sounds harsh but given the serious nature of this I get that it needs to be. However whereas the police may arrest you for it, a very in-depth investigation will likely show whether you intended to receive it or have gone looking for it in the past. These sorts of details will only come out in court. The best you can hope for (assuming someone genuinely did not request the stuff and isn’t legitimately interested) is a no further action from the CPS but that’s unlikely.

This kind of reason is why WhatsApp shows you a preview of what someone is trying to send you - you don’t have to download it.

It’s a legal minefield with no obvious way to answer.

I get the impression Edwards isn’t interested in underage material but used very poor judgement in his actions and who he keeps in contact with.

I’m happy to be proven wrong though - if it turns out he knew what he was doing then he deserves to be put away for a very long time.