Zafer Dogan, 32, who used AI to sexualise photos of women and two children, was repeatedly bailed to his flat overlooking a children’s playground despite opposition from the Met
A sex offender who amassed thousands of photographs of women and girls and used artificial intelligence to “nudify” some of them was repeatedly released on bail to his flat, which overlooks a children’s playground.
Zafer Dogan, 32, photographed adults and children going about their “daily business” without their knowledge or consent, before using AI software to digitally manipulate the images into sexually explicit material.
The case has drawn sharp criticism from police who — alongside the Crown Prosecution Service — had consistently opposed Dogan’s bail, citing the “risk” he posed to the local community.
Dogan, who works as a mechanic, was sentenced to two years and four months at Wood Green Crown Court on Thursday, having previously pleaded guilty to multiple image-related offences, including making indecent images of children.
The head of Metropolitan Police Sir Mark Rowley attended the hearing during the afternoon.
The court was told that Dogan was arrested on July 16 on suspicion of offences relating to indecent images of children.
The defendant “freed himself” from his handcuffs, fled the scene and discarded his mobile phone into a nearby garden. Dogan was apprehended shortly afterwards and his device was confiscated, reports the Express.
Prosecutor Sarah Gabay told the court that investigators uncovered “thousands of images of women and children which seem to have been taken without their consent or their knowledge”.
Ms Gabay stated that these individuals were “going about their daily business” in the photographs, which included images of children on climbing frames. Police revealed that Dogan had captured more than 5,000 images, a significant number of which were taken from his bedroom window, which looked directly out onto a playground.
The court was informed that photographs of 33 adult women and two children — aged seven and 13 — had been “digitally altered” using AI software to produce sexualised material.
Dogan was re-arrested on August 4, and the following day he was charged and remanded by police.
The defendant appeared before Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on August 6, where he accepted all charges brought against him.
The prosecution stated that Dogan has “been on conditional bail throughout these proceedings”.
The court heard that Dogan gave no-comment interviews following both arrests.
Victim impact statements were read to the court from the mothers of Dogan’s two child victims, whose identities have been protected for legal reasons.
The mother of the 13-year-old described feeling as though she had been “punched in the gut” upon being informed by officers of what had taken place.
She added: “I’m really worried that my daughter’s photos are online and other paedophiles have them.”
The mother of the seven-year-old said she felt “helpless”, stating: “Our lives will never be the same again and I can’t do anything about it all because one man exploited my child.”
Joseph Carr, speaking in mitigation, said the defendant “recognises the profound seriousness” of his offending, noting that Dogan had separated from his long-term partner in 2025 and had subsequently “spiralled into depression”.
The defence lawyer stated that Dogan “fell down the rabbit hole and was unable to find his way out”, while acknowledging that his actions remained wholly inexcusable.
The judge described Dogan as a “Jekyll and Hyde” character throughout the hearing, having reviewed numerous character references which Mr Carr said “speak to positive character”.
Dogan, from Enfield, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of a child, comprising 900 category C images, 294 category B images and 653 category A images – the most serious classification.
He further admitted to possessing extreme pornography, possessing a prohibited image of a child, creating purported intimate images of an adult, obstructing a constable in the execution of their duty, and two additional counts of making indecent photographs of a child.
Passing sentence, Judge Alexander Jacobs stated: “The offences are so serious that in my judgement only a custodial sentence is justified.”
He praised the “bravery” of the mothers who provided victim impact statements, adding: “As they rightly say, whatever sentence I impose, it will not undo what you did. No sentence can give those families back what you stole from them through your depraved actions.”
The judge confirmed he was satisfied that all of Dogan’s offending was “completely sexually motivated”.
The Metropolitan Police revealed that, together with the CPS, it had opposed Dogan’s bail on three separate occasions, though all attempts proved unsuccessful and the offender was permitted to return to his flat.
Detective Chief Inspector Brian Kelleher spoke to the Press Association about the force’s “frustration” at the court’s repeated decision to grant Dogan bail, after he had used AI software to “nudify” images.
The senior officer stated that the “whole details” of the case were presented before the court, “including the fact that he was being bailed to effectively the area where he had been offending”.
Mr Kelleher said: “The matters at court … went through a series of challenges where the police and CPS opposed bail, opposed his being bailed back to the address, but the courts continued to bail him, and that went through a series of three or four different hearings.”
He continued: “There are certainly frustrations, especially where, like in this case, we identify an offender who’s moved beyond the normal pattern of slightly more passive collecting of material into producing it yourself, and when we then highlight the risk to the court to really try and challenge those systems to put someone into custody.”
Police Constable Natalie Scagliarini, who headed the investigation, added: “This is a deeply distressing case. Dogan’s actions were predatory and dangerous. He targeted the most innocent of scenes – children playing or out walking with their parents – and manipulated the photos he took in the most sickening way.
“The nature of his offending has understandably left those who have learned of it feeling unsettled and violated, not knowing when they might be being watched or photographed and for what purpose.”
Courts should only bail offenders “where necessary and proportionate”, a Government spokesperson said after the justice system was criticised by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley for allowing a Dogan to return to his flat which overlooked a children’s playground.
