Revealed: How judges ignored victims' pleas by allowing paedophile who snapped women and girls and used AI to 'nudify' them back to flats where he'd committed his offences against them

Judges ignored victims' pleas and allowed a paedophile who took thousands of images of women and girls before using AI to nudify them to return to flats where he committed his offences.

Zafer Dogan, 32, was jailed last month for two years and four months after snapping more than 5,000 images – many of which were taken from his flat, which overlooked a children's playground in Enfield, north London.

Dogan previously pleaded guilty to multiple image offences, including making indecent images of children, having been first arrested on July 16 and subsequently bailed.

Court hearing transcripts now show how judges ignored pleas from the families of Dogan's victims, prosecutors and the Met Police to remand him in custody. 

One judge said she had 'every sympathy' for the families involved, but said the legal bar for remanding someone in custody meant the prosecution had to prove he may abscond, commit further offences or interfere with witnesses.

'He has not done any of those things,' Judge Barbara Mensah said. 

Relatives of children targeted by Dogan were left 'terrified' he would commit further offences or take more photographs of them.

Previously, prosecutor Sarah Gabay told a court investigators discovered 'thousands of images of women and children which seem to have been taken without their consent or their knowledge'.

Zafer Dogan admitted to taking thousands of images of his victims which he then altered using AI technology to 'nudify' them for his own sexual gratification 

Judge Barbara Mensah said she had 'every sympathy' with the victims and their families but could not overrule previous judges' decisions

Ms Gabay said these individuals were 'going about their daily business' in the photographs, which included pictures of children on climbing frames. According to police, Dogan had taken many images from his bedroom window.

The court was told photos of 33 adult women and two children – aged seven and 13 – were 'digitally altered' using AI software to create sexualised content.

He was arrested again on August 4 and the following day was charged and remanded by police.

He appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court on August 6 and accepted all the charges against him – but was then bailed again to his home by magistrates.

Conditions included that he not leave the UK, live and sleep at the address, not contact a child aged under 18 unless supervised by a responsible adult, and only have one digital device capable of connecting to the internet which must be registered and subject to inspection by police.

This decision was then supported by two judges at Wood Green Crown Court.

At an initial hearing there, prosecutors said Dogan should be remanded, while his defence lawyer said he could be tagged and subjected to a curfew.

Judge Daniel Fugallo declined to take either option.

Judges declined to remand him in custody even after he admitted to the offences 

At a second hearing a month later, prosecutor Iseult McGrory told the court Dogan had been assessed as posing a 'high risk' and his bail conditions were causing 'great concerns' to his victims and their families.

One of his child victims lived so close to Dogan they had to walk by his address – they and their family were ultimately rehoused over the case and the youngster had to change schools.

Mrs McGrory told the court the community were 'deeply distressed' and families were 'terrified of further offences', which was causing them psychological harm.

But although Judge Mensah said she had 'every sympathy' with the victims, and 'may have taken a different view' on whether Dogan's bail conditions were sufficient to manage his risk level, she said she could not change these conditions for that reason alone.

This could lead to prosecutors 'forum shopping', going from one hearing to another to try and find a more sympathetic judge, she added. 

At sentencing last month, the court heard victim impact statements from the mothers of Dogan's two child victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

The mother of the 13-year-old victim described feeling as if she had been 'punched in the gut' when police officers told her what had happened.

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 victim described feeling 'helpless', adding: 'Our lives will never be the same again and I can't do anything about it all because one man exploited my child.'

Another parent said: 'Our lives are turned upside down for ever. Yet no one protects us.'

Dogan previously pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of a child, which included 900 category C images, 294 category B images and 653 category A images – which are the most severe.

He also admitted 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 a further two counts of making indecent photographs of a child.

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley criticised the courts' decisions following Dogan's sentencing, saying that 'children should be put first, not the paedophile'.

Making a statement outside Wood Green Crown Court, Sir Mark explained one family 'ultimately felt forced to move to a distant temporary accommodation, disrupting their lives and disrupting their children's lives, simply to escape being in the neighbourhood of the offender'. 

'That is simply not acceptable,' he added. 'The pressure to reduce the remand population has contributed to more dangerous and prolific offenders being granted bail routinely despite strong submissions from the police and CPS.'

Commenting on the case, the Prime Minister has said Sir Mark's viewpoint 'needs to be heard', and has asked those working in the criminal justice system to make 'necessary changes'.

Dogan's bail came as the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee warned last year prisons were 'alarmingly full' and operating between 98.0 per cent and 99.7 per cent occupancy between October 2022 and August 2024.

The committee also found the number of prisoners on remand, who are waiting for a trial or sentencing, reached a record high of 17,711 in August 2024. Remand and bail decisions are made by independent judges or magistrates.