The BBC has suspended a male presenter over allegations of purchasing sexually explicit images from a teenager for thousands of dollars during a three-year period, the corporation said in a statement Sunday.
The Sun, a British newspaper, reported Friday that an unnamed BBC presenter allegedly paid £35,000 for the explicit photos starting when the teenager was 17. Both the presenter and the alleged victim have not been identified.
According to the Sun, the mother of the alleged victim said her child, who is now 20, had a cocaine addiction that was funded by the presenter’s payments. The family reported the situation to the BBC and asked the organization to tell the presenter to stop sending the money.that it first became aware of the allegations in May and has since been in touch with external authorities and the alleged victim’s family.
“It is important that these matters are handled fairly and with care,” the statement said. “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.”published on the BBC’s website, Tim Davie, the BBC director general, said he was taking the allegations “incredibly seriously,” calling it a “complex” situation.
The investigations team, Davie said, has been “looking into this since it was raised and have been actively following up.”
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