A supply teacher from Salford has been jailed for six years after taking covert upskirting images of schoolgirls and using artificial intelligence to create sexualised deepfake images of pupils.
Abusali Rahman, 37, pleaded guilty to 21 offences at Bolton Crown Court on October 15. He admitted 12 counts of taking an indecent image of a child, four counts of publishing an obscene article, three counts of possessing indecent images of children, one count of distributing indecent images of children, and one count of voyeurism.
How the teacher was caught
Rahman came to police attention after a mother spotted a picture of her daughter on an X account with more than 1,000 followers. The image had been stolen from the girl's social media profile and was accompanied by inappropriate, sexualised comments. The mother reported the discovery to police and the school, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Officers were horrified to learn the operator of the anonymous account was a school teacher. Rahman, born in Tameside with dual Bangladeshi nationality, had graduated with a teaching degree from Manchester Metropolitan University and qualified as a teacher in July 2023.
Upskirt images and deepfakes
Between January and June last year, Rahman abused his position as a supply teacher to use his mobile phone to covertly take upskirting images of children while he worked at schools. Officers identified 12 girls who were victims of upskirting, with a further three girls depicted not identified. The girls were aged between 13 and 16 and attended seven high schools across Bury, Bolton and Salford.
Rahman had taught at 25 schools across the North West. He also saved other pictures of children he had taught from their social media accounts and used AI to turn them into sexualised content. A note in his phone suggested he planned to sell access to a Telegram account for £20 to receive what he described as 'all the best 'candid candy'.
Police response
Investigating officer DC Lisa McGaffin said: "He has never given us any information or explanation as to why he has committed these offences. It's incredibly frustrating that that happens sometimes. But it has also been very difficult to review all of the images as well."
She added: "These are children who are meant to be in a safe environment. They have been exploited by somebody who is in a position of trust, so I'm horrified that that has happened."
DC McGaffin also noted the challenge of AI: "It's incredibly worrying. Even over the last 12 months, not just as a result of this investigation, technology has grown in our lives. As with everything, when you get regulated platforms you get the unregulated versions. It's a very very difficult problem."
After the hearing, Alexandra Mann, Senior Crown Prosecutor, said: "Abusali Rahman abused his position as a teacher to capture images of children without their knowledge in a school environment where they were entitled to feel safe. Rahman also created and shared sexualised deepfake images of pupils on social media which is a gross breach of trust. Misuse of emerging technology is a serious crime, and it has had a profound impact on both the victims and wider community."
