Raza Laskar

Dr Raza Laskar, a 32-year-old junior doctor specialising in paediatrics from Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for a series of child sex offences. Working in the NHS at various hospitals in Greater Manchester, Laskar exploited his professional affinity with children to groom and abuse vulnerable young boys both in person and over the internet. The case came to light through a targeted police operation against individuals accessing online child abuse imagery.

Manchester Crown Court heard that in May 2014, Greater Manchester Police executed a warrant at Laskar's home following the detection of 1,605 files containing indecent photographs of children uploaded from his IP address between Christmas Day 2013 and January 2014. Upon searching the property, officers discovered over 1.2 million indecent images, along with hundreds of chat logs and videos documenting Laskar's sexual activities with a child whom he had taken to a hotel room he booked. Laskar pleaded guilty to 31 charges, including sexual activity with a child and possession of abusive images.

Detective Sergeant Guy Laycock of Greater Manchester Police described the case as particularly aggravating, stating: "Laskar was a paediatric doctor who spent his working day with children. He has an affinity with them and knows how to engage and communicate with them. A significantly aggravating factor is that he used this knowledge to incite and groom his victims, all of whom were very young, vulnerable boys." Although the charges were not directly related to his employment, NHS England confirmed Laskar's roles in local hospitals, highlighting the breach of trust involved.

The investigation underscores the dangers posed by individuals in positions of authority over children, with police operations continuing to target online exploitation. This case was reported by the BBC on 31 October 2014, drawing from court proceedings at Manchester Crown Court and statements from Greater Manchester Police.