A convicted paedophile who secretly photographed thousands of women and girls before using artificial intelligence to digitally remove their clothes was granted bail three times at a home overlooking a playground, forcing families linked to the case to leave the area.

Zafer Dogan, 32, collected up to 5,000 images. The sheer number of alleged victims has meant police have been unable to identify everyone featured in the material.

The case prompted a strong response from Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, who said the justice system should put children before paedophiles. He warned that dangerous and prolific offenders are routinely granted bail by judges despite the risks they present.

Dogan used AI software to alter photographs of children, including youngsters wearing school uniforms, making them appear nude. From his bedroom, which faced a playground, he was also able to take pictures of children below.

He monitored hundreds of women and children, some as young as seven, at times spending hours concealed in his car while secretly photographing them.

The mechanic was arrested on July 16 over offences involving indecent images of children. Police bodycam footage showed him fleeing after allegedly freeing himself from his handcuffs. He discarded his phone in a garden, where officers later recovered it.

Dogan was sentenced to two years and four months at Wood Green Crown Court yesterday after pleading guilty to several image-related offences, including making indecent images of children.

He also targeted children known to him, secretly taking photographs and later using AI to “nudify” them. Investigators found that he had downloaded 1,800 indecent images, including extreme pornography and material involving bestiality.

Three courts declined to remand Dogan in custody even after he admitted nine offences involving indecent images, extreme pornography and obstructing police.

His continued release led families of victims to abandon their homes, remove their children from school, leave employment and move elsewhere for safety. Dogan also continued attempting to make contact.

In an unusually forceful intervention outside the sentencing hearing, Sir Mark said public trust in the justice system was being damaged. He described it as “little surprise” that many victims were withdrawing from prosecutions after seeing alleged attackers released back into the community.

His comments came just one week before the first phase of Labour’s early-release programme, under which 700 offenders are expected to leave prison.

Prosecutor Sarah Gabay told the court that investigators had uncovered “thousands of images of women and children which seem to have been taken without their consent or their knowledge”.

She said the people shown appeared to be carrying out ordinary daily activities. Some photographs depicted children playing on climbing frames.

Police said Dogan had amassed more than 5,000 photographs, with many apparently taken from the window of his bedroom.

The court heard that images of 33 adult women and two children, aged seven and 13, had been digitally manipulated with AI software to produce sexualised material.

Dogan was arrested for a second time on August 4. The following day, police charged him and he was remanded in custody.

He appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on August 6, where he admitted all the charges.

According to the prosecutor, Dogan has ‘been on conditional bail throughout these proceedings’.

Dogan gave no comment interviews after both arrests, the court heard.

The court heard victim impact statements from the mothers of Dogan’s two child victims, who have been kept anonymous 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.’

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

Joseph Carr, mitigating, said the defendant ‘recognises the profound seriousness’ of his offending.

He said the defendant had separated from his long-term partner in 2025 and subsequently ‘spiralled into depression’.

The lawyer said Dogan ‘fell down the rabbit hole and was unable to find his way out’, but added that there is no excuse for his actions.

The judge described Dogan as a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ character during the hearing having read multiple character references, which Mr Carr said ‘speak to positive character.’

Dogan, of Enfield, 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.

The Met Police said that alongside the CPS, it had opposed Dogan’s bail on three occasions but their attempts were unsuccessful and the offender was allowed to return to his flat.

Detective Chief Inspector Brian Kelleher told the Press Association about the force’s ‘frustration’ at the court’s decision to repeatedly bail Dogan, who had used the AI software to ‘nudify’ images.

The detective said the ‘whole details’ of the case were raised in 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 went on: ‘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 led the investigation, said: ‘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.’

Speaking outside Wood Green Crown Court, Sir Mark said: ‘The children should be put first, not the paedophile. 

‘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.

‘Victims are left fearful, communities are left feeling less safe and confidence in the justice system is undermined. This case is just another example of victims being let down.’

He said officers were ‘routinely’ seeing the consequences of ‘pressure’ on courts not to remand criminals due to prison overcrowding.

London’s Victims’ Commissioner Andrea Simon told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme that the rights of victims have ‘seem to be put to one side as the justice system struggles’.

She said on Friday: ‘I think victims and their families were grossly failed by the decision to allow this paedophile to return to an address where he was overlooking a playground and near to his victims.

‘But the case, I think, is an example of the many ways the justice system just does not centre victims.

‘To know that the police and prosecutors opposed bail multiple times, but nevertheless he was returned to the community, is an indication that the capacity pressures on prisons are not being balanced with the impacts that that’s having on victims’ lives.’

A Government spokesman said: ‘The law is clear that bail should only be used where necessary and proportionate, including to protect victims, witnesses and the public while investigations and court proceedings are ongoing.’

Students at several leading UK universities are being advised on how to claim benefits from the day their courses end, prompting concerns that young people are being pushed towards a life on welfare.

Guidance issued by some institutions encourages graduates to apply for Universal Credit even if they are living with their parents or have a job due to begin within a few weeks.

Another university advises students to begin their applications before completing their courses, warning them not to delay making a claim.

The advice comes as young people face the worst employment crisis in decades. University leavers were competing for just 8,383 graduate vacancies in July, representing a 45 per cent fall in job adverts compared with the same month last year.

The number of graduate roles has fallen below the level recorded in May 2020, during the height of the coronavirus lockdown.

Official figures also show that unemployment among 16-to-24-year-olds increased from 16.2 per cent to 16.4 per cent in the three months to July—the highest rate in more than a decade.

Critics claim universities should be equipping students with the skills needed to navigate the difficult jobs market rather than placing them on what has been described as a “fast track” to benefits.

At King’s College London (KCL), one of the country’s leading Russell Group universities, a blog about life after graduation tells students they “shouldn’t feel bad” about claiming support such as Universal Credit and Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA).

“As a graduate, these benefits are in place to help you transition from full-time study to work, even if you are living at home or have [a] job lined up in a few weeks. This is an important safety net, which you should claim just in case anything changes,” the guidance states.

Loughborough University has also published a specific date in June from which graduates could apply for support.

Its “money after university” guidance says: “If you are not immediately starting paid work, you may wish to apply for Universal Credit.”

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The page adds that Universal Credit can be claimed from the day after a course ends and that students can begin an application one or two weeks beforehand because the process takes time. It also advises: “As a general rule, do not delay in making any claim for benefits.”

Meanwhile, the University of Stirling advises that claims can be made “from the day after your official course end date”.

The university says: “You may need to claim Universal Credit once you are no longer a student whilst you seek employment or wait to start further study.”

In an effort to address the youth unemployment crisis, Andy Burnham has promised a new government programme designed to help young people move into work.

Under the Jobs Guarantee scheme, 18-to-24-year-olds who receive Universal Credit and have been out of work for 18 months will be offered a direct route into employment.

The roles will be matched to each participant’s skills, with the government fully funding up to 25 hours of paid work a week for six months to help them enter the labour market.

It is hoped that more than 90,000 young people will be supported by the scheme in the next three years.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: ‘Young people want to get on in life but for too long too many have been denied that opportunity. The Jobs Guarantee helps change that.

‘Seeing the first young people start their roles brings to life what this scheme is about: real jobs, proper wages, and a genuine route into a career.

‘As we roll this out to tens of thousands more young people across the country, we’re backing the next generation to succeed and backing British businesses to grow with the talent they need.’

A spokesperson for King’s College London said: ‘We are proud of our world-leading employment rates for graduates, 86 per cent of whom are in highly skilled employment or study 15 months after graduation. 

‘For a small number of our students who do not have savings or alternative means of support, we offer advice on how to seek additional assistance whilst they look for work – as is our duty of care.’

The Daily Mail has approached Loughborough University and the University of Stirling for a comment.