WARNING DISTRESSING CONTENT: Zafer Dogan, 32, has been jailed for two years and four months after taking thousands of pictures of women and girls and using AI to “nudify” some of them
A paedophile who took thousands of pictures of women and girls and used AI to “nudify” some of them was repeatedly bailed to his flat that overlooks a children’s playground.
Zafer Dogan, 32, took photos of adults and children going about their “daily business” without their knowledge or consent and used AI software to digitally alter them into sexually-explicit images.
The case has sparked criticism from police who – alongside the Crown Prosecution Service – had repeatedly opposed Dogan’s bail by highlighting the “risk” the offender posed locally.
Dogan, who works as a mechanic, was jailed for two years and four months at Wood Green Crown Court on Thursday having previously pleaded guilty to multiple image offences, including making indecent images of children.
The head of Metropolitan Police Sir Mark Rowley said in a statement: “The children should be put first, not the paedophile.
“Prosecutors rightly opposed bail on multiple occasions, building on officers’ clear assessments of the great risk he posed, and yet bail decisions were ultimately made that prioritised the offender’s interests over the safety and the peace of mind of the victims.
“A victim and their family found themselves living in close proximity to a man who had admitted targeting them.
“They were so fearful, they ultimately felt forced to move to distant temporary accommodation, disrupting their lives and disrupting their children’s lives, simply to escape being in the neighbourhood of the offender.”
The court heard that Dogan was arrested on July 16 on suspicion of offences involving indecent images of children.
The defendant “freed himself” from his handcuffs, ran away and discarded his mobile phone into a nearby garden. Dogan was stopped soon after and his device was seized.
Prosecutor Sarah Gabay said that investigators discovered “thousands of images of women and children which seem to have been taken without their consent or their knowledge”.
Ms Gabay said these individuals were “going about their daily business” in the photographs, which included pictures of children on climbing frames.
According to the police, Dogan had taken more than 5,000 images, many of which were from his bedroom window which overlooked a playground.
The court was told that photos of 33 adult women and two children – aged seven and 13 – were “digitally altered” using AI software to create sexualised content.
Dogan was arrested again on August 4 and the following day he was charged and remanded by police.
The defendant appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on August 6 and accepted all the charges against him.
According to the prosecutor, Dogan has “been on conditional bail throughout these proceedings”.
Dogan gave no comment interviews after both arrests, the court heard.
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.
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 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.”