Zafer Dogan, 32, of Enfield, was jailed for two years and four months at Wood Green Crown Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to multiple image offences, including making indecent images of children. The mechanic used artificial intelligence to “nudify” pictures of women and girls he had photographed without their knowledge while they went about their daily business.
Thousands of images seized
The court heard that Dogan was arrested on July 16 on suspicion of offences involving indecent images of children. He “freed himself” from his handcuffs, ran away and discarded his mobile phone into a nearby garden, but was stopped soon after and his device was seized.
Prosecutor Sarah Gabay said investigators discovered “thousands of images of women and children which seem to have been taken without their consent or their knowledge”. The photographs showed individuals “going about their daily business”, including children on climbing frames. Police said Dogan had taken more than 5,000 images, many from his bedroom window which overlooked a playground.
Photos of 33 adult women and two children – aged seven and 13 – were “digitally altered” using AI software to create sexualised content.
Bail opposed by police
Dogan was arrested again on August 4 and charged and remanded the following day. He appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on August 6 and accepted all the charges. The prosecutor said Dogan “has been on conditional bail throughout these proceedings”. He gave no comment interviews after both arrests.
The Met Police said that alongside the Crown Prosecution Service, it had opposed Dogan’s bail on three occasions but the attempts were unsuccessful and he was allowed to return to his flat. Detective Chief Inspector Brian Kelleher told the Press Association about the force’s “frustration” at the repeated bail decisions.
Mr Kelleher said: “The matters at court … went through a series of challenges where the police and CPS opposed bail, opposed his being bailed back to the address, but the courts continued to bail him, and that went through a series of three or four different hearings.”
Victim impact and sentence
The court heard victim impact statements from the mothers of the two child victims, who remain anonymous for legal reasons. The mother of the 13-year-old said she felt as if she had been “punched in the gut”, adding: “I’m really worried that my daughter’s photos are online and other paedophiles have them.” The mother of the seven-year-old described feeling “helpless”, saying: “Our lives will never be the same again and I can’t do anything about it all because one man exploited my child.”
Joseph Carr, mitigating, said Dogan “recognises the profound seriousness” of his offending. He said the defendant had separated from his long-term partner in 2025 and “spiralled into depression”, adding that he “fell down the rabbit hole and was unable to find his way out” but there was no excuse for his actions. The judge described Dogan as a “Jekyll and Hyde” character after reading character references.
Dogan pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of a child – 900 category C images, 294 category B images and 653 category A images, the most severe. He also admitted possessing extreme pornography, possessing a prohibited image of a child, creating purported intimate images of an adult, obstructing a constable, and two further counts of making indecent photographs of a child.
Police Constable Natalie Scagliarini, who led the investigation, said: “This is a deeply distressing case. Dogan’s actions were predatory and dangerous. He targeted the most innocent of scenes – children playing or out walking with their parents – and manipulated the photos he took in the most sickening way.”
