Key facts
- Zafer Dogan was jailed for two years and four months for making indecent images of children and using AI to manipulate them.
- Dogan took over 5,000 pictures, many from his bedroom window overlooking a playground.
- Despite objections from police and prosecutors, Dogan was granted conditional bail multiple times.
- London's victims' commissioner, Andrea Simon, said victims were "grossly failed" by the bail decisions.
- Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley criticized the justice system for prioritizing offenders' interests over victims' safety.
- Rowley also criticized AI companies for their role in facilitating sexual offending.
London's victims' commissioner has stated that victims and their families were "grossly failed" by the court system's decision to grant bail to a sex offender who repeatedly returned to his home overlooking a playground he targeted. Zafer Dogan, 32, was jailed on Thursday for two years and four months after pleading guilty to multiple offenses, including making thousands of indecent images of children and using AI software to "nudify" them.
Andrea Simon, the victims' commissioner, told BBC Radio 4's Today program that the case demonstrated the justice system does not prioritize victims. She highlighted that police and prosecutors had opposed bail multiple times, yet Dogan was allowed to remain in the community, suggesting that capacity pressures on prisons were impacting victims' lives. Simon drew parallels to the case of serial sex offender Simon Levy, who committed murders while on bail.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley echoed these criticisms, stating that prosecutors had rightly opposed bail, but judges' decisions prioritized offenders' interests over victims' safety. He noted that one victim's family felt so fearful they were forced to move to temporary accommodation. Rowley also criticized AI companies, labeling them "grossly irresponsible" for not doing more to prevent their tools from being used to facilitate sexual offending.