Victor Melleney

A former BBC producer has been convicted at Kingston Crown Court of possessing indecent images of children, marking a significant fall from grace for the once-respected broadcaster who worked on flagship programmes such as Question Time and Panorama.

Victor Melleney, now retired, faced multiple charges related to child sexual abuse material. The jury acquitted him of making indecent photographs of hundreds of children but found him guilty of the alternative charge of possession. He was also cleared of possessing an extreme pornographic image and a prohibited image. The trial, which took place at Kingston Crown Court in London, involved nearly two days of jury deliberations before the verdicts were returned.

• Investigators from the National Crime Agency (NCA) received information linking two IP addresses associated with Melleney to the receipt of indecent images of children on various dates in 2018.
• Searches were conducted at two addresses in west London: one in Holland Park and another in Kensington.
• Hard drives recovered from these locations contained a number of Category A images, the most serious classification, depicting children believed to be as young as four years old being abused.

During the trial, Melleney denied any sexual interest in the material, telling the jury he had “absolutely” no attraction to the “horrible” indecent images of children. He attributed his downloading of “an awful lot” of pornographic material, including the illegal content, to loneliness following his role as the primary caregiver for his two children in the late 1990s. Melleney, a father to two grown-up daughters, claimed his actions stemmed from personal struggles rather than paedophilic intent.

The court heard detailed evidence from NCA officers about the recovery of the images. Following the conviction, Melleney was released on bail and is scheduled to be sentenced on 14 January 2022 at Kingston Crown Court. The case was investigated by the National Crime Agency, highlighting their role in tackling online child sexual exploitation.

This conviction comes amid broader scrutiny of child sexual abuse material distribution online, with the NCA playing a key role in international efforts to combat such crimes. Sources close to the case emphasise the severity of Category A images, which involve the most graphic abuse and carry significant custodial penalties under UK law.