Naveed Ishaq

Naveed Ishaq, a 48-year-old man from Bolton, was sentenced at Bolton Crown Court for possessing and downloading a vast collection of child abuse images. Between March 2017 and August 2020, Ishaq systematically scoured the internet for indecent material, amassing 388,094 images categorised as follows: 31,307 category A (the most severe), 29,256 category B, and 327,531 category C. The images depicted children as young as one year old up to 17, with many showing victims in distress and severe pain.

The investigation began as part of a nationwide operation by the National Crime Agency (NCA), targeting the sharing of indecent images on the New Zealand-based file-sharing website Mega.NZ. The NCA identified six email addresses linked to Ishaq that were used to receive such material. Five of these accounts were traced back to his home address on Langthorne Walk in Bolton. Greater Manchester Police were informed and executed a search warrant at his residence.

Upon arrival, officers informed Ishaq of the reason for the search, to which he responded that he had been wanting to contact the police to discuss how easily such material could be obtained online. He described himself as a 'concerned citizen' who had downloaded the images to demonstrate this issue and planned to hand them over to the police or a newspaper as evidence. However, further investigation revealed a more sinister reality. Police seized multiple devices including an iPad, two iPhones, a desktop computer, another phone, a laptop, external hard drives, and a memory card hidden in a washbag inside a sofabed.

• Forensic analysis uncovered not only the child abuse images but also 47 images of extreme pornography involving animals, including a video featuring a child.
• A 120-page 'paedophile manual' titled 'how to practice child love' was found on his devices.
• Evidence included web visits, bookmarks, downloads, and chat logs where Ishaq used terms like 'pre-teen hardcore' and 'rape', and asked in chat rooms: 'Do you have any child porn about?'
• He employed secretive internet browsers to cover his tracks.

Prosecutor Mr Connick detailed the horrific nature of the content during the hearing on Monday, 25 October 2021. Defending barrister John Harrison noted that Ishaq was of previous good character, pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, and claimed his initial excuse to police was made out of fear. He emphasised that Ishaq's wife was entirely dependent on him and that his thought processes needed tackling.

Judge Martin Walsh, the honorary recorder of Bolton, described the amount of material as 'grotesque' and the activity as a 'systematic and committed searching for prohibited material over an extended period of time'. He imposed a two-year custodial sentence, of which Ishaq would serve half before release on licence, along with a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. All seized devices containing the material were ordered to be destroyed. The case was reported by the Manchester Evening News on 26 October 2021.