Huw Edwards was reportedly warned by the BBC about his online conduct two years before the scandal that led the news reader to be taken off air.
The 62-year-old resigned last week on medical grounds, having not worked since July 2023 when the Sun alleged he had paid a young person for sexually explicit images.
South Wales Police and the Metropolitan Police found no evidence of criminal conduct.
The family of the unnamed young person originally complained to the BBC about Edwards in May 2023, and Edwards was publicly named by his wife as the BBC presenter at the centre of the allegations in July.
On Sunday, the Times reported that the BBC had warned Edwards after a member of the public, a woman in her forties, made a complaint in 2021.
The pair are said to have exchanged messages over Instagram and email before the BBC was contacted by the complainant.
It was said that the corporation had approached Edwards about this behaviour within hours of the report being filed and that the woman later retracted her complaint.
The BBC has strict guidance for how its staff use their social media accounts, and this includes “always behaving professionally, treating others with respect and courtesy”.
Edwards is said to have been told to stop messaging the woman but they were talking again after the first complaint had been withdrawn.
A second complaint was allegedly made in January 2022 and Edwards was again told to stop messaging her, the Times states.
The BBC “spoke to Huw about his actions and his social media use”, and understood the “interactions between [the two] were to stop”.
But they once more continued.
This led to the woman making a third complaint in July last year which led to an internal review at the BBC into how it handled its complaints, according to reports.
A BBC source told the Times: “More generally, when dealing with non-editorial complaints we have longstanding and robust processes in place.
“We will always seek to handle any such issues with care, fairness and sensitivity to everyone concerned, but, as we have set out, there will always be a limit to what can be said or shared about such processes.”
The Times said that Edwards’ representatives have given no comment.
The Standard has approached the BBC and Edwards’ representatives for further comment.
