Cardiff Crown Court (Image: Wales Updates)
Last Updated: 2 minutes ago
A 20-year-old who shared indecent images of children online and kept dozens more on his phone has avoided immediate custody after a hearing at Cardiff Crown Court.
Basher Ali Tareb, of Loudon Square in Butetown, admitted making indecent images of children and distributing indecent images of children. He was 19 at the time of his arrest and has no previous convictions.
Sentencing
Recorder Paul Lewis KC handed Tareb 20 months’ detention in a young offenders institute, suspended. Passing sentence, the recorder said he did not accept Tareb’s claim that he was not sexually attracted to children.
Alongside the suspended term, Tareb must complete 100 hours of unpaid work and the Building Better Choices programme. He was also made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and to sex offender notification requirements for 10 years.
The police visit
Officers went to the family home on September 5 last year after child abuse images were uploaded to a Snapchat account in Tareb’s name. His father let them into the house and led them to the defendant’s bedroom.
Before he was arrested, Tareb told the officers: “Don’t tell my dad.” A search of the property followed.
Phone evidence
Prosecutor Sophie Keegan told the court that an iPhone recovered during the search held Discord conversations about child sexual abuse images. Examination of the handset turned up 22 category A images and 18 category B images.
Tareb had also passed indecent images to others through the Telegram app. The youngest child pictured in the material was two years old, and searches for bestiality images were found on the device.
Mitigation
Harriet Ealden, defending, said Tareb had previously been a young man of good character and that his “lack of maturity” had played a part in the offending. She told the court he had taken steps to move away from negative influences, had a supportive family, and was employed by the British Heart Foundation.
