A serving police officer who incited more than 200 girls to send him explicit videos and images was in contact with some of his victims while he was on duty, a court has heard.
Lewis Edwards, 24, also got in touch with one of the girls he targeted via Snapchat after first meeting her in person during the course of his police work, Cardiff crown court was told.
On the second day of his sentencing hearing, one of Edwards’ victims urged the court to lock him away so he could not contact her again or hurt any other girls.
Other girls and their families told of the ongoing torment he had caused, with at least one victim self-harming and others contemplating suicide.
Families of some of the victims had to leave the public gallery when particularly explicit material was played in court and the prosecuting barrister, Roger Griffiths, became so emotional as he read one of the many impact statements that the court had to break for a short time.
Edwards joined South Wales police in January 2021 and offences against 209 out of the 210 victims he is being sentenced for took place when he was an officer.
He would pose as a teenage boy and incite girls as young as 10 to send him explicit images and videos and then blackmail them to share ever more extreme material, threatening to share what they had given him with their families and even vowing to bomb their homes if they failed to comply.
Griffiths said that as part of the investigation, detectives analysed Edwards’ shift patterns and found that on at least 30 occasions he had received images while he was on duty.
The prosecutor described how Edwards had visited a vulnerable teenage girl as part of his work as a police officer. He contacted her a few weeks later via Snapchat, told her he had met her at a party and tried to persuade her to send images.
Edwards, of Bridgend, south Wales, was suspended after he was caught and resigned before he could be sacked. He has refused to attend court for his sentencing.
One of his victims appeared in court to call for him to be jailed and criticised him for refusing to attend. She said: “I am angry that he had the choice to go to court but he took away my choice,” adding: “He should be made to listen to all of the victims’ statements.”
She said: “I was 13 when I was targeted and the exploitation began. I was just about to start a new school and did not know anyone, which meant I was vulnerable because I really wanted new friends and was beginning to think about boys.
“I thought I was talking to a really nice boy who liked me lots and complimented me, making me feel good about myself.”
When Edwards began to blackmail her, she was “terrified, hurt and let down”. She continued: “The hardest thing for me was finding out he was a police officer and realising he was not a boy.”
She said: “I want him to be locked away so I don’t live with the fear of seeing him, contacting me or hurting other girls and their families.”
Griffiths became emotional as he read a statement from one mother who said: “Life is never going to be the same for us again.”
The prosecutor told the court that the investigation into Edwards continued and police were attempting to trace and contact even more victims.
Susan Ferrier, for Edwards, described his crimes as “prolonged, shocking, predatory” and accepted he presented a danger.
She said Edwards had said: “I have destroyed people’s lives” and had admitted: “I knew what I was doing was wrong. I found it hard to look at myself in the mirror. I’m extremely sorry.”
Ferrier said Edwards had been “ill-equipped” to deal with the challenges he faced as a police officer. He was “emotionally immature”, had never had a relationship with a woman of his age, had low self-esteem and suffered with depression and anxiety, she said.
The hearing continues.
