London: “The X Factor” 2018 semifinalist Danny Tetley has pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting teenaged children. Tetley, 39, formally entered a guilty plea at Bradford Crown Court for five charges of causing sexual exploitation of a child, reports metro.co.uk.
He was accused of asking five teenage boys — aged 15 and 16 — to send him explicit images in return of money. Tetley allegedly sent the messages between October 2018 and August 2019.
“The X Factor” ran from September to December 2018, with Tetley being eliminated in November. Tetley had also pleaded guilty to four charges involving two 14-year-olds at a previous hearing.
Prosceutor Michael Smith said that the Crown would not seek to try Tetley on other allegations to which he has pleaded not guilty, saying: “The investigation is complete and the victims have been identified.”
Tetley pleaded not guilty to making indecent images of children and perverting the course of justice. His lawyer Andrew Dallas sought that the sentencing be adjourned, so that the defence had adequate time to go through “well over 10,000” text and WhatsApp messages.
Some of the indecent pictures showed “images involving penetrative sexual activity, sexual activity with an animal or sadism”. Other photographs depicted non-penetrative sexual activity.
Tetley previously denied all accusations. He will be sentenced January 24, 2020.
