As a mum scrolled through her X feed, something stopped her in her tracks. She noticed a post – it featured a picture of her daughter. The account had more than 1,000 followers, and the user behind the profile clearly had a depraved interest in teenage girls.
The image of her daughter had been stolen from one of her social media profiles and was accompanied by inappropriate, sexualised comments. Shocked, she reported her discovery to the police, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Officers were even more horrified when they learnt the operator of the anonymous X account was a school teacher.
Abusali Rahman, born in Tameside with dual Bangladeshi nationality, had graduated with a teaching degree from the Manchester Metropolitan University. He qualified as a teacher in July 2023. Within months, he was displaying a sexual interest in children by downloading indecent images.
Police would learn even more shocking details about his sexual interest in children. Rahman, 37, had abused his position as a supply teacher to use his mobile phone to covertly take upskirting images of children while he worked at schools, between January and June last year.
Officers have identified 12 girls who were the victims of upskirting, when Rahman had manoeuvred his camera in order to take intimate images of them. Rather than secrete a camera in the toilets, for example, Rahman used the camera from his iPhone to take pictures after placing the device in his top pocket. A further three girls depicted have not been identified.
The girls were aged between 13 and 16, and attended seven high schools across Bury, Bolton and Salford. In all, Rahman had taught at 25 schools across the North West.
It was that first discovery X by the horrified mum which brought Rahman to the attention of the police. A man with no previous convictions and who had passed a disclosure and barring check, police and prosecutors remain at a loss as to why Rahman, a married man with children, turned to such vile offending. He declined to answer questions at interview.
They also discovered that he had saved other pictures of children he had taught from their social media accounts, and then used AI to turn them into sexualised content. Rahman had a note in his phone which suggested he planned to sell access to a Telegram account for £20, to receive what he described as ‘all the best ‘candid candy’.
Investigating officer DC Lisa McGaffin told reporters of Rahman: “He has never given us any information or explanation as to why he has committed these offences.
“It’s incredibly frustrating that that happens sometimes. But it has also been very difficult to review all of the images as well.
“These are children who are meant to be in a safe environment. They have been exploited by somebody who is in a position of trust, so I’m horrified that that has happened.”
Explaining how Rahman first came onto their radar, she added: “It was a parent of one of the pupils who attended one of the schools. She had come across an X account and seen her daughter on there, in one of the obscene articles, and then reported it to the police but also she told the school about it, the school also reported it as well.”
Through digital examinations, police were able to say that Rahman’s offending spanned from December 2023 and June 2025. The upskirking images were taken between January and June last year. Rahman had downloaded almost 200 indecent images of children between December 2023 and June 2025.
It was March last year when the police were alerted by the parent. Police did not know immediately that he had been a teacher. The realisation came after they had submitted checks about his personal circumstances that the shocking reality was exposed.
The realisation that one of their own profession could behave in this way has left teachers shocked to the core.
“From the meetings we have had with headteachers and the local authority, I think it’s has taken everyone a little while to sort of get their head around this could have happened within a school setting,” said DC McGaffin. “There was no information to suggest that he would ever take part in anything like this, and just horrified that it has happened. When you speak to him, he is a very quiet man.”
Another disturbing element to the case was Rahman’s use of AI. DC McGaffin admits the fast moving technology makes it difficult for police to keep pace.
She said: “It’s incredibly worrying. Even over the last 12 months, not just as a result of this investigation, technology has grown in our lives. As with everything, when you get regulated platforms you get the unregulated versions. It’s a very very difficult problem.
“And because there isn’t much legislation around AI, it makes it even more difficult for police forces to tackle that.”
Rahman, of no fixed address, but from, Salford, pleaded guilty to 21 offences. He admitted 12 counts of taking an indecent image of a child, four counts of publishing an obscene article, three counts of possessing indecent images of children, one count of distributing indecent images of children, and one count of voyeurism.
At Bolton Crown Court today (October 15), he was jailed for six years. After today’s hearing, Alexandra Mann, Senior Crown Prosecutor, said: “Abusali Rahman abused his position as a teacher to capture images of children without their knowledge in a school environment where they were entitled to feel safe.
“Rahman also created and shared sexualised deepfake images of pupils on social media which is a gross breach of trust. Misuse of emerging technology is a serious crime, and it has had a profound impact on both the victims and wider community.
“We worked with police to piece together strong evidence from his devices and locations at the time the photos were taken to build a comprehensive picture exposing the extent of his offending. I hope this case sends a clear message that we will robustly prosecute those who use technology to exploit children.”