Men shared ‘vile’ child-sex video clips on Whatsapp
TWO men, including one from Rochdale, shared vile child sex videos on Whatsapp. Taxi driver Rafaaq Asnaat, 25, and Rochdale security guard Muhammad Shahzad, 30, said they shared the clips as jokes or ‘banter’.
But the pair escaped a prison term after a judge accepted they were remorseful and they were not motivated by sexual interest in children.
Police uncovered the clips on the phone of another man being investigated over an allegation of rape when he was arrested in January 2020, prosecutor Simon Blakebrough told Manchester Crown Court on Friday. The device led police to investigate three different Whatsapp groups.
Five years ago, Asnaat shared a video to one of the groups which showed three children estimated to be aged between six and eight in a garden in a ‘Middle Eastern setting’, the court was told. The video showed the children involved in a vile and degrading sex act.
Shahzad also shared a 54-second clip to another of the Whatsapp groups, this time showing a child thought to be aged between eight and 11 with an adult male who simulated a sex act. The clip again appeared to have been filmed outside and was in a ‘Middle Eastern setting’, the court heard.
Both clips were shared ‘many times’ but until police discovered them they had not been seen before by the ‘abusive images database’ used by police, said Mr Blakebrough.
When Shahzad was arrested and interviewed, he confirmed he was the ‘admin’ for the Whatsapp group concerned which he said he created so work colleagues could exchange messages.
He said he could not recall the offensive video when officers described it to him but he admitted he forwarded videos he thought ‘were funny’, the court heard. He said he hadn’t realised it was illegal and ‘expressed remorse’ to the police officers conducting the interview.
Shahzad said he forwarded lot of videos but insisted he never sent anything ‘abusive’. The defendant was ‘visibly shaken’ and said he was sorry during the interview, said Mr Blakebrough. The defendant denied he found the clip ‘arousing’.
“He said it was commonplace for videos of that kind to be shared and sincerely apologised and said he will never do anything like this again,”
Judge Peter Horgan
●●Manchester Crown Court
said the prosecutor. Asnaat refused to answer questions when he was interviewed by police, although he gave a prepared statement in which he ‘expressed regret’ and said he sent the clip ‘as a joke to get a reaction’. He denied having a sexual interest in children.
Mike Lavery, defending Shahzad, said the offence concerned ‘a single video of 54 seconds’ which he had shared in the Whatsapp group. His client had made ‘full admissions’ for a crime which happened years ago.
He said any suggestion his client, who had no previous convictions, had a sexual interest in children would be ‘a little harsh’, adding: “He sent one single video he thought was funny into a Whatsapp group.” Asnaat was otherwise a ‘law-abiding, honest, decent citizen’ who appeared ‘shocked and sorry’ when he was confronted with what he had done,
During a brief hearing, Rosemary Walsh, appearing for Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service, said they were offering no evidence after experiencing difficulty with key witnesses. Judge Philip Babington allowed the appeal.
Mccourt appeared 80 times for Rochdale AFC, after joining from a youth side in Derry. He played 66 games for Celtic and another 18 for the Northern Ireland national side. said Mr Lavery. Shahzad was guilty of ‘stupidity rather than him being a risk to children’, said Mr Lavery.
Graham Rishton, defending, Asnaat, said: “It was a pathetic attempt at banter made by him.
“Of course, there’s nothing remotely funny about it.
“That’s a symptom of his ignorance and immaturity.”
He pointed out his client, now 25, was 20 at the time of the offence. Mr Rishton told the judge: “He appears before you today thoroughly ashamed of himself in the knowledge his family is thoroughly ashamed of him.”
Judge Peter Horgan told the defendants: “Whilst you might have thought it was funny at the time, it appears you have now reflected on that and do not suggest it at all. It was not funny. It was abhorrent and it was disgusting.”
The judge ruled neither man had been sexually motivated and decided not to impose a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Asnaat, of Elsemore Road in Fallowfield, Manchester, was handed a 16-month sentence suspended for 18 months after he admitted a single offence of distributing an indecent image said to be ‘category A’, the most serious. He was ordered to complete a rehabilitation program and carry out five days of rehabilitation activity as well as 80 hours of unpaid work.
Shahzad, of Henry Street in Rochdale, was handed a six-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months after he admitted distributing an indecent image of category B. He was also ordered to complete 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days and carry out 80 hours of unpaid work. Both defendants must pay £425 towards prosecution costs.
‘You found it funny at the time. It was not funny, it was abhorrent and disgusting’