ALI BRAIHM ALBAKHEET FROM FIFE AVOIDS JAIL AFTER CHILD SEX OFFENSES AND ASKS TO WORK IN CHARITY SHOP
A convicted sex offender with a disturbing history of child abuse material has managed to avoid imprisonment and has expressed a desire to undertake unpaid community service in a charity shop.Ali Braihm Albakheet, originally from Saudi Arabia and residing in Dundee, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court to face charges related to his possession of indecent images of children.
Albakheet, aged 53 and living on Weavers Loan in Dundee, admitted to downloading a total of 93 indecent images and 67 videos depicting child abuse between April 13, 2020, and January 11, 2023.
The material found on his phone included 79 images classified as Category A, indicating the most severe and depraved content involving very young children.
The court was informed that Albakheet had come to Scotland to accompany his daughter, who was studying at a university here.
His daughter has since returned to Saudi Arabia, but he has been unable to leave the country because he surrendered his passport to authorities.
It was noted that he plans to return to Saudi Arabia in November.
During the hearing, the defense solicitor, Alan Gravelle, acknowledged that the severity of the offending had exceeded the threshold for custody.
Despite this, Albakheet was not sentenced to prison but was instead placed on the sex offenders register for five years.
Sheriff Susan Duff described the images and videos as extremely disturbing, emphasizing their involving very young children.
As part of his sentence, Albakheet was given a community payback order requiring him to complete 280 hours of unpaid work and to be under eight months of supervision.
When asked if he would be willing to undertake unpaid work, he responded through a translator, saying, “If it’s not a hard job.
If it was in a charity shop.” The court clarified that it would be the social work department that would decide where he would perform his unpaid community service.
Albakheet’s case highlights the ongoing concerns regarding individuals involved in child exploitation and the legal measures taken to address such offenses, even when offenders are not incarcerated.
