A shop worker was caught with indecent pictures of “very young” girls.
Linthorpe’s Saywan Karim kept a stash of illegal images on his phone but was caught out when Cleveland Police stormed his Tavistock Street home on May 2, last year. Teesside Crown Court heard examination of the device revealed he had downloaded 26 illegal images of children and 17 of those were Category A – the most serious.
According to the charges, the offending took place from April 9 to May 3, 2023 and Karim admitted possession of 17 category A images, possession of five category B images and possession of four category C images. Summarising the case on Wednesday, Judge Jonathan Carroll said the 26-year-old told Probation Service officers he did not have a sexual interest in children however, the judge rejected this.
Judge Carroll said it was “obvious” from the search terms Karim had used on his device that he was looking for illegal material of children. He said the defendant’s case was aggravated by the fact the images involved “very young females”.
Defending Karim, barrister Sue Hirst said the offences were non contact and stressed the defendant is of good character. She added: “He moved to Middlesbrough five years ago. He built a life from himself in Middlesbrough. He has part-time employment in a shop.”
She said he is very “concerned” about his job as he uses the money to pay for accommodation. The defendant was handed a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years.
He must complete 180 hours of unpaid work and 40 days rehabilitation. The court heard he must sign onto the Sex Offender Register for ten years and comply with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).
Judge Carroll ordered for a copy of his sentencing remarks to be sent to the Home Office and Border Force for consideration of his future immigration.
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