London’s Metropolitan Police have criticised a court decision that allowed a man who admitted offences involving indecent images of children to return home on bail while awaiting sentencing.
The man was subsequently sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court to two years and four months in prison after pleading guilty to offences involving indecent images of children, extreme pornography and prohibited images of children.
According to the Metropolitan Police, prosecutors opposed granting him bail on three separate occasions, with their objections supported by police risk assessments. The court nevertheless permitted him to return to his home address pending sentencing.
Police said the decision was particularly concerning because much of the offending was alleged to have taken place at that address.
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said the handling of the case had created an unacceptable situation for victims and their families.
The investigation also highlighted concerns about the misuse of artificial intelligence and digital image-manipulation technology. Police said the man had secretly taken more than 5,000 photographs of women and girls in public, including children playing and travelling to and from school.
Investigators said some of those photographs were subsequently digitally altered to produce sexualised images.
“Innovation cannot come at the expense of public safety, and industry has a clear responsibility to help prevent these technologies being exploited by predators,” Rowley said.
The Metropolitan Police said the case demonstrated the emerging risks posed when widely available image-manipulation technologies are used to create abusive material from photographs of real people and children.