LONDON (Reuters) – British police said on Monday they were assessing information provided by the BBC about allegations that a TV presenter paid a teenager to pose for explicit photos, but there was no investigation into a crime at this stage.
The broadcaster suspended a male member of staff on Sunday following the claims published by the Sun about the presenter.
The star, who has not been identified publicly by the newspaper, the BBC or the police, is alleged to have paid the teenager 35,000 pounds ($44,828) over three years beginning when the teenager was aged 17.
The age of consent for sex in England is 16, but images of someone under 18 can be considered child pornography. London’s Metropolitan Police said detectives from its specialist crime command held an online meeting with the BBC earlier on Monday.
“They are assessing the information discussed at the meeting and further enquiries are taking place to establish whether there is evidence of a criminal offence being committed,” the police said in a statement.
“There is no investigation at this time.”
($1 = 0.7808 pounds)
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Peter Graff)
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