A former MasterChef quarter-finalist threatened to leak ‘explicit’ images of police officers unless child sex abuse charges against him were dropped, a court heard.
University academic Caerwyn Ash – who appeared as a contestant on the BBC cookery show in 2016 – was arrested after being accused of possessing child sex abuse images.
But the court heard Ash, 41, tried to pervert the course of justice by threatening to release ‘explicit’ pictures of police officers unless his case was dropped.
Ash – who boasted that judge Gregg Wallace thought his pudding was one of the best he’d ever tasted – was working as an associate professor of medical devices at the time of the show.
But a court heard officers raided his partner’s home and seized a number of electronic devices in April 2019.
University academic Caerwyn Ash – who appeared as a contestant on the BBC cookery show in 2016 – was arrested after being accused of possessing child sex abuse images
But the court heard Ash, 41, tried to pervert the course of justice by threatening to release ‘explicit’ pictures of police officers unless his case was dropped
Prosecutor James Wilson said child abuse images and bestiality videos were found on a hard drive and computer tower from a garden office.
Mr Wilson said: ‘The day before Ash was due to appear at magistrates court he went to Swansea police station with a letter addressed to the ‘Head of CID’.
Swansea Crown Court heard that in the letter Ash called for the charges against him to be dropped.
Mr Wilson told the court he would ‘create an earthquake’ by publishing compromising material involving police officers engaged in sex acts.
He said: ‘Ash said he would use a trusted friend in the Press Association to bring the material into the public domain.’
Ash, of St Thomas, Swansea, denies nine charges of possessing indecent images, prohibited images, and extreme pornography, and one of attempting to pervert the course of public justice.
Prosecutor Mr Wilson said 20 images and five videos of child abuse and 50 images and 35 videos involving bestiality were found on a hard drive.
Officers also found a computer tower containing 30 images of child abuse and one video, as well as 28 images involving animals and five videos.
The offences are alleged to have taken place between 2005-2019.
Ash is defending himself at the trial which is expected to last three weeks.
The trial at Swansea Crown Court continues.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
