The ringleader of an international monkey torture ring and a teacher who took up-skirting photos of schoolgirls were among the criminals jailed in the UK in October 2026. Offenders sentenced last month also included a former soldier who strangled his wife, a prolific burglar who killed a pensioner, and a former TV soap actor who went on the run.
High-Profile Cases Sentenced in October
Bartosz Poklek, 30, from Bexley in south-east London, was sentenced to three years and three months in prison for distributing videos showing the torture and killing of monkeys. Judge Christopher Grout called for tougher punishments for animal cruelty offences as he jailed Poklek, who played a leading role in the 'vile' network. The court heard that Poklek distributed cruelty videos that sold for up to 500 dollars a time, wrote scripts for how the animals should be mutilated, and directed the way the monkeys would be killed, including them being clubbed to death with a hammer.
Poklek ran chat groups for the "monkey hate" online community, distributing thousands of "abuse on demand" videos and images. The abuse is taking place in south-east Asia, with macaque monkeys subjected to prolonged torture on camera. The judge noted that the maximum sentence for animal cruelty crimes is five years in prison, saying: "I feel bound to say that the facts of this offending are, many may feel, a compelling example of why a five-year maximum sentence is too low by a significant margin."
Teacher and Former Soap Actor Jailed
Abusali Rahman, a 37-year-old high school teacher, was jailed for six years at Bolton Crown Court for taking up-skirting photos of schoolgirls and using AI to "nudify" their social media profile pictures. Rahman used his iPhone in his top pocket while working as a supply teacher in seven high schools. He was caught when the mother of one girl found an image of her daughter on X, formerly Twitter, alongside graphic sexual images. Rahman's victims were 15 girls, all aged between 13 and 16, who were pupils at seven different high schools in Bury, Bolton and Salford.
Former Brookside actor Philip Foster, 51, was jailed for a further six months at Sheffield Crown Court in October for attempting to evade justice. Foster was jailed in his absence for eight and a half years in February 2025 for a £13.6 million fraud that conned would-be models, but hid in Spain before his trial. He was extradited last month. Judge David Dixon told Foster: "You were a coward, you decided to hide and didn't come and face the music."
Other Notable Sentences
Ashley Malcolm, 40, was jailed for 18 years for fatally attacking 86-year-old retired plumber John Burke in his home in Hackney, north London. Malcolm headbutted Mr Burke, fracturing his nose and causing intracranial bleeding. Michael Davies, 58, was told he would spend at least 14 years in prison for murdering his wife Tracey Davies, 48, at their home in Bridgend in South Wales. David Barraclough, 46, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years and one month for killing his wife with a claw hammer and keeping her body in a chest freezer.
Two drug users, Sadak Ali and Hamza Sharif, were jailed for abducting an 11-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted and offered cocaine. Ali was jailed for seven years, and Sharif for five years. Gaven Clarke, 41, of Norfolk, was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison for using hidden cameras to film young girls in the bathroom. The sentences handed down in October reflect the range of serious offences dealt with by UK courts last month.
