BBC presenter accused of sending ‘threatening and abusive’ messages to second youngster as ‘sex pics’ scandal escalates
THE BBC presenter at the centre of a scandal over alleged sex images has been accused of sending threatening messages to a second youngster.
In a new allegation, the second individual, in their early 20s, said they were first contacted on a dating app before being put under pressure to meet up.
It comes after The Sun revealed claims that a well-known BBC star paid thousands to a teen who sent him sex images.
Now a second young person has told the BBC they were sent “threatening messages” by the BBC star after suggesting they might name the presenter online.
The young person, who has no connection to the first person, said they were scared by the power the presenter held.
They claimed they never met the presenter in person.
The family of the first victim told The Sun they complained to the BBC hours after the presenter tried to meet the youngster at a train station.
Their stepdad said: “Without the money, my partner’s child would have no drugs.”
Emails seen by The Sun show the stepfather told the Beeb on May 19 of bank statements detailing huge payments from the star.
The stepdad revealed he told Beeb bosses they had screenshots of contact between their child and the star.
The second person has today said after connecting on a dating app the conversation moved to other platforms.
This was when the presenter revealed their identity and told them to keep it a secret.
BBC News claimed it has seen threatening messages from the presenter to the young person.
Last week the presenter remained on air and was not even spoken to until The Sun contacted the BBC.
The first young person’s stepfather accused the BBC of lying after it said “new allegations” emerged, leading to the star’s suspension on Sunday.
The new claims were the youngster was 17 when contact began with the presenter, according to the stepdad.
He fumed: “They’re not telling the truth. I told them the youngster was 20 and it had been going on for three years.
“I told the BBC I had gone to the police in desperation but they couldn’t do anything as they said it wasn’t illegal. They knew all of this.”
He also said the money did not stop, adding: “I don’t even think they spoke to him.”
The BBC say they did call the family in June, but nobody picked up.
A lawyer for the youngster says nothing unlawful or inappropriate happened.
BBC'S TIMELINE OF SCANDAL
May 18
The complainant, a family member, attended a BBC building, with the aim of making a complaint about the behaviour of a presenter.
May 19
That relative then contacted BBC Audience Services and the details of this contact were referred to the Corporate Investigations Team.
This department then assessed the claim and found although it was not criminal in nature, it warranted further investigation.
The BBC’s Corporate Investigations Team emailed the complainant to seek additional information to verify the claims being made but there was no response.
Checks were also made to verify the identity of the complainant. The BBC said this is a standard procedure to confirm that the complainant is the person they say they are.
June 6
After receiving no response to the email, a phone call was made to number provided by the family member but it did not connect.
This led the Corporate Investigations Team to decided to return to the matter in the coming weeks.
No additional attempts to contact the complainant were made after June 6, however the case remained open throughout.
July 6
The Sun contacted the BBC via their press office to report the allegations surrounding the presenter.
The BBC says it became clear that the source of the claims was from the same family as approached the BBC on May 18 and May 19.
This was the first time Mr Davie and other executive directors became aware of the case.
The broadcaster claims the allegations made by The Sun contained fresh information that was not being investigated by the Corporate Investigations team.
The BBC initiated an incident management group involving senior BBC executives including the director-general to lead the response.
The acting chairman was updated, and the board was regularly updated in the coming days, the corporation said.
The presenter was then spoken to for the first time to make him aware of the claims.
It was agreed the presenter would be taken off air while the probe continued.
July 7
Following The Sun’s contact, the BBC’s Corporate Investigations team contacted the complainant again, who was in touch with the BBC’s investigators.
The BBC’s Serious Case Management Framework (SCMF) was initiated and the investigation being undertaken by the Corporate Investigations Team was brought into the SCMF, which is chaired by a human resources director.
The BBC also made contact with the police.
July 8
The family member sent the BBC some materials related to their allegations.
July 9
More materials were sent and the BBC issued an update to staff and the media.
They also confirmed the presenter had been suspended.
July 10
The BBC met with the police to report the matter and discuss how to progress the investigation.
The young person’s lawyer released a statement saying nothing inappropriate or unlawful happened.
The Sun spoke to the youngster’s mum and stepdad, who questioned how they had a lawyer and accused the BBC of “not telling the truth”.
July 11
Mr Davie reveals the Met Police have told them to pause their own investigation.
This is while “the police scope future work” following a meeting with the Beeb yesterday over the allegations.
Speaking on Radio 4, the chief also admitted he has not spoken to the accused presenter.
He also branded the situation “difficult and complex” and said the allegations are “clearly damaging”.
A second youngster claimed they spoke to the BBC presenter on a dating app.
They told the BBC they were threatened by the presenter after suggesting they might name them online.