A mother has been jailed for helping her police officer son who used Snapchat to groom more than 200 girls.
Lewis Edwards, 25, was given a life sentence last year and was sentenced for further offences on Tuesday.
Edwards is a former South Wales Police officer and is serving a minimum of 12 years after he lost an appeal against his sentence in May.
His mother Rebekah Edwards, 48, had pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice.
Recorder of Cardiff Tracey Lloyd-Clarke sentenced her to two years in prison today.
The judge said she had considered whether the sentence could be suspended but said the offending was “too serious” for anything other than an immediate custodial sentence.
Edwards will serve half of her sentence in custody before she is released on licence.
‘Buried the phone in the garden’
Cardiff Crown Court heard that a search warrant was executed at the home address of Lewis Edwards on 8 February 2023.
Prosecuting, Roger Griffiths said “a number of electronic devices were recovered in the course of the police search” but that Lewis Edwards declined to give passwords to police.
In July 2023, South Wales Police were informed Rebekah Edwards had recovered two mobile phones.
“It was reported to the police that Mrs Edwards had asked [Lewis Edwards] what she should do with the phones,” Mr Griffiths added.
“Lewis Edwards had said: ‘Bury the black one’.”
Rebekah Edwards initially handed over two phones, but she was then asked by police about a report they’d received of a phone in the garden.
“I buried the phone in the garden when I buried the cat,” she told officers.
Mr Griffiths told the court the device recovered from “the grave of the family cat” was “a black mobile telephone with a smashed screen”.
Due to its damage the phone was “incapable of examination”, the prosecution said.
“We say there was no reason for [Rebekah Edwards] to retain any of the phones,” Mr Griffiths added.
‘Embroiled others in his offending’
Andrew Davies, defending Lewis Edwards, said there was “very little that can be said” but that “the best mitigation [was] his guilty pleas”.
“He regrets that he’s embroiled others in his offending,” Mr Davies added.
For the three offences of possession of indecent images of children, Lewis Edwards was sentenced to 12 months in prison to run concurrently with the life sentence he is currently serving.
He was also sentenced to 2 years and 8 months in custody for perverting the course of justice which will also run concurrently.
Giles Hayes, defending Rebekah Edwards, said she was the “primary carer for a dependent relative” and previously of “good character”.
He said Edwards had moved address to live with her mother “for fear of repercussions in the local community” after her son’s arrest.
After Lewis Edwards was sentenced last year, Assistant Chief Constable Danny Richards said there was “no place” for “anyone who abuses the personal responsibility they hold as a police officer” in South Wales Police.
Follow our channel and never miss an update
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
