Former police officer and his mother sentenced after perverting course of justice by burying evidence in garden

Former police officer Lewis Edwards and his mother Rebekah Edwards have been sentenced after attempting to conceal crucial evidence following an online child abuse and blackmail case.

Lewis Edwards, aged 25 and a former police officer, was convicted of multiple child sexual online offences in October 2023 including inciting a child under 13 to engage in penetrative activity, sexual communication with a child, blackmail, and making indecent images of children. He is currently serving a life sentence.

Rebekah Edwards, 48 from Bridgend, having discovered mobile phones containing further evidence of her sons offending, buried one of those phones in her garden at his request near the grave of a pet cat.

Lewis Edwards was arrested on 8 February 2023 and while he was on remand, information was received that Rebekah Edwards had located three of his mobile phones.  She moved them from one address to another despite knowing that the police investigation into her son’s devices was ongoing and buried one phone in their garden.

On 3 August 2023, South Wales Police executed a warrant at the family’s residence. Rebekah Edwards initially handed over just two phones but admitted to burying a third device when confronted by officers. It was subsequently retrieved from her garden, where it had been hidden in a pet’s grave.

Forensic examination of one of the phones revealed Category A, B, and C indecent images of children, as well as applications commonly used by offenders to evade detection.

Both defendants pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice at Cardiff Crown Court, and Lewis Edwards to possessing indecent images of a child.

Lewis Edwards was sentenced to two years and eight months in jail at Cardiff Crown Court today. Rebekah Edwards was sentenced to two years in jail.

Lucy Dowdall from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “At the time that she found her son’s mobile phones, Rebekah Edwards knew of the continued investigation into his offending behaviour.

“In assisting his attempts to conceal further evidence of his sexual exploitation of children, she demonstrated a lack of concern for the devastating impact of her son’s actions on innumerable young people and their families. Her sole concern was for her paedophile son and not for his victims or helping them secure the justice they deserved.

“The fact that Lewis Edwards involved his own family members shows how far he was prepared to go to cover up his offending, and his continued lack of remorse for his abhorrent behaviour.

“The images found on one of the phones retrieved included category A images, the most severe type of child abuse, indicating the seriousness of his offending.

“Our work on this case did not stop with the original conviction, and we have continued to work with investigators to identify where offences were committed, to ensure justice is served.”

Derek Ray-Hill, Interim CEO of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), the UK’s front line against online child sexual abuse imagery, said: “Every image or video of child sexual abuse is a crime scene. The children are real, and the abuse inflicted on them can affect them for life.

“Brazen criminals like Edwards think only of themselves. His selfishness in trying to cover his own tracks with schemes involving his own family is in stark contrast to how little he cares about those children who suffered as a result of his actions.

“Every day at the IWF, we see the results of his kind of offending. That predators like Edwards can now reach children through their phones, when they should be safe in their own homes, is a public health scandal which must be taken seriously.”

To deal with some of the more complex and challenging child sexual abuse cases, the CPS has a dedicated Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit to share specialist understanding, build strong cases and increase the amount of successful prosecutions.