NAVEED ISHAQ SENTENCED IN BOLTON FOR SHARING AND DOWNLOADING PICTURES OF CHILD ABUSE
Naveed Ishaq, a 48-year-old from Bolton, downloaded an extremely distressing volume of indecent images between March 2017 and August 2020, Bolton Crown Court was told on Monday.The court heard that Ishaq searched the internet for repulsive images, including animal pornography, and participated in chat rooms where he asked, "Do you have any child porn about?" His activities were uncovered as part of a nationwide investigation.
Ishaq initially claimed he was shocked at how easily such material could be found and insisted he intended to "hand it to the police or a newspaper" as evidence.
The police operation was led by the National Crime Agency (NCA), which was investigating the sharing of child abuse images on the New Zealand-based file-sharing platform Mega.NZ.
The NCA discovered six email addresses registered on Mega.NZ believed to be used by Ishaq to receive indecent images, with five of these accounts traced back to his home address.
Mr.
Connick explained that the evidence was handed over to Greater Manchester Police, who subsequently searched Ishaq’s home on Langthorne Walk, Bolton.
During the search, Ishaq told officers that he had wanted to contact the police about the ease of accessing such material online.
He claimed he downloaded the images out of concern, intending to demonstrate how accessible such content was.
Ishaq was arrested, and authorities seized multiple devices, including an iPad, two iPhones, a desktop computer, another phone, and a laptop.
He also indicated to officers that additional devices were stored in a washbag, hidden inside a sofa bed in his home.
A subsequent search revealed this bag, which contained further external hard drives and a memory card.
Analysis of these devices revealed a staggering number of indecent images of children—both stills and videos.
There were 31,307 Category A images, 29,256 Category B images, and 327,531 Category C images, amounting to a total of 388,094 images.
The images depicted children aged between just one year old and 17, with many victims appearing distressed or in severe pain.
Police also uncovered 47 images of extreme animal pornography, including a video featuring both an animal and a child.
Additionally, they found a graphic 120-page manual on "how to practice child love." Further evidence included web visit logs, bookmarks, downloads, and online chat transcripts, which tracked the files accessed and search terms used, such as "pre-teen hardcore" and "rape." Ishaq had utilized secret internet browsers to conceal his activities, Mr.
Connick added.
In his defense, lawyer John Harrison described Ishaq as a man of previously good character who pleaded guilty early in the proceedings.
Harrison highlighted that Ishaq’s wife was entirely dependent on him and claimed that his client’s initial excuse—that he wanted to hand the material over to authorities out of concern—was driven by fear after the raid.
Judge Martin Walsh, the honorary recorder of Bolton, sentenced Ishaq to two years in prison, with him expected to serve half before being released on licence.
Ishaq was also ordered to sign a sexual harm prevention order for ten years.
Judge Walsh remarked on the grotesqueness of the material, stating, "This was a systematic and committed searching for prohibited material over an extended period of time." He emphasized that only an immediate custodial sentence was appropriate given the serious nature of the offenses.
All items containing illegal material seized from Ishaq will be destroyed.
