MOHAMMED SALIHI FROM ALVASTON CAUGHT WITH SICK ANIMAL AND CHILD IMAGES IN DERBY

In December 2020, a disturbing case emerged involving Mohammed Salihi, a resident of Alvaston, Derby, who was found in possession of highly disturbing and illegal images. The police investigation revealed that Salihi had been storing and viewing explicit material that included both animals and young children, raising serious concerns about his conduct and the nature of his offenses.

Authorities uncovered these illicit images during a raid on Salihi’s residence on Brighton Road. The police had responded to a tip-off and arrived at his home on April 23, 2019. During the search, they seized two mobile phones belonging to Salihi, which contained a troubling collection of images. It was also discovered that he had received three explicit images via WhatsApp from an unidentified sender, further implicating him in the distribution and possession of illegal content.

Salihi, aged 41 at the time, was arrested and subsequently interviewed by the police. He admitted to possessing indecent images, including those classified as extreme pornography. The images found on his devices included material involving animals, which he claimed was commonplace in his home country of Iraq, according to his explanation to the pre-sentence report author. He also admitted that some images depicted young children, with ages estimated between four and six years old, as well as slightly older minors.

Despite the severity of the offenses, Salihi was spared a prison sentence. Instead, he was handed an 18-month community order by Judge Jonathan Bennett. The judge emphasized that Salihi’s actions involved extremely disturbing content, including real animals and children, which he found particularly unacceptable. The judge dismissed Salihi’s explanation about the distribution of such images being normal in Iraq, indicating that such reasoning was not acceptable in the UK legal context.

Prosecutor David Lee outlined that Salihi had a prior conviction for possessing false identification documents, which resulted in a jail sentence over ten years ago. This previous conviction did not involve any sexual offenses but was related to fraudulent identity papers. Salihi’s current case was considered serious, but the court opted for a community-based punishment.

As part of his sentence, Salihi was ordered to attend 30 rehabilitation sessions with the probation service, aimed at addressing his behavior. Additionally, he was subjected to a curfew, restricting him to his home between 8:30 pm and 6:00 am for the next three months. The court also mandated that he pay £750 in prosecution costs, placed him on the sex offender register for five years, and issued a five-year sexual harm prevention order to prevent any future offenses.

Judge Bennett’s ruling reflects the gravity of possessing such illegal and disturbing images, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding vulnerable individuals and maintaining strict legal standards against such offenses.