The unnamed BBC star accused of paying a teenager for sexually explicit photos reportedly called them in a panic after a newspaper reported on the allegations asking them to quash the story.
“What have you done?” the presenter asked the young person, who is now 20, according to the Sun, which broke open the scandal that has engulfed the venerable broadcaster.
The tabloid reported earlier this week that the BBC employee allegedly paid the teen $45,000 over the course of three years to send him photos and engage in video sessions.
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On Monday, a lawyer for the young person at the center of the story came forward to claim that the allegations made in the Sun were “rubbish.”
“For the avoidance of doubt, nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place between our client and the BBC personality and the allegations reported in the Sun newspaper are rubbish,” the lawyer said.
A spokesperson for the Sun said: “We have reported a story about two very concerned parents who made a complaint to the BBC about the behaviour of a presenter and the welfare of their child.”
“Their complaint was not acted upon by the BBC.
“We have seen evidence that supports their concerns. It's now for the BBC to properly investigate.”
The mother told the newspaper that her child had used the money to finance a crack cocaine addiction. She claims to have complained to the BBC about the arrangement in May.
“It’s obvious to me the BBC hadn’t spoken to this man between our complaint on May 19 and in June as they thought he was too important,” she said.
She said she decided to go public because she thought it was the only way to stop the presenter from contacting her child.
On Friday, after The Sun’s initial story, the family spoke to the BBC’s chief of investigations. The BBC has taken the employee off the air while it investigates, but he was only formally suspended on Sunday two months after the original complaint was made, according to reports.
It acknowledged receiving a complaint in May but claimed “new allegations were put to us on Thursday of a different nature.”
“The BBC takes any allegations seriously and we have robust internal processes in place to proactively deal with such allegations,” it said in a statement.
“This is a complex and fast-moving set of circumstances and the BBC is working as quickly as possible to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps. It is important that these matters are handled fairly and with care.
“We have been clear that if—at any point—new information comes to light or is provided to us, this will be acted upon appropriately and actively followed up,” the statement said.
The BBC confirmed that corporation figures would hold a meeting with the Metropolitan Police on Monday. It was reported that members of the BBC’s internal investigations unit would meet Scotland Yard detectives to ask for help in how to investigate the claims.
The age of consent in Britain is 16, but it is a crime to possess sexual imagery of under-18s, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. It is also a criminal offense to ask a child under the age of 18 to send sexually explicit photos. Inciting the sexual exploitation of a child carries a custodial sentence of up to 14 years.
