The Government has said bail should only be granted “where necessary and proportionate”, after the country’s most senior police officer criticised a decision to allow a paedophile to return to his flat which overlooked a children’s playground.
Conviction and sentencing
Zafer Dogan was jailed on Thursday for two years and four months after he was convicted of taking thousands of pictures of women and girls, before using AI technology to turn them into nude images for his own sexual gratification.
Despite protests from the police and prosecutors, he was bailed back to his flat in Enfield, north London, forcing one family who had fallen victim to his crimes to move into temporary accommodation.
Police criticism
Following the 32-year-old’s sentencing, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley took the unusual step of publicly criticising the justice system, arguing the pressure to cut the number of prisoners on remand has led to “dangerous and prolific offenders” being granted bail.
Sir Mark said the current system was leaving his officers feeling “hamstrung” by making “unfathomable decisions”.
Speaking outside Wood Green Crown Court, Sir Mark had said: “The children should be put first, not the paedophile.”
“The pressure to reduce the remand population has contributed to more dangerous and prolific offenders being granted bail routinely despite strong submissions from the police and CPS.
“Victims are left fearful, and communities are left feeling less safe, and confidence in the justice system is undermined.”
Government response
A Government spokesperson said the law is “clear” and should be used to “protect victims, witnesses and the public while investigations and court proceedings are ongoing”.
Remand and bail decisions are made by independent judges or magistrates.
Earlier, the court heard how Dogan, who worked as a mechanic, took photos of adults and children going about their “daily business” without their knowledge before using AI software to digitally alter them into sexually explicit images.
A Government spokesperson said: “These were awful crimes and our thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones.
“The law is clear that bail should only be used where necessary and proportionate, including to protect victims, witnesses and the public while investigations and court proceedings are ongoing.
“We’ve brought in tough new laws to ban AI tools designed to create child sexual abuse images, target websites that spread them and stop this vile material being created in the first place.”
