Leeds paedophile who shared sick rape images avoids jail - because he may struggle behind bars
A pedophile caught with thousands of abuse images and sent a selection to another pervert has avoided custody, because he would be “vulnerable” behind bars.
Kane Bacha was caught distributing horrific images online, communicating on the social media app Telegram Messenger to send the material, some of which depicted the rape of very young children.
But the 35-year-old was spared custody at Leeds Crown Court, after it was argued he would struggle because he was diagnosed with ADHD and autism.
Prosecutor Anthony Moore said the authorities were alerted to Bacha’s activity and moved to arrest him on May 11 last year. From his home on Regent Street, Chapeltown, they seized numerous internet devices, including a computer tower, USB memory sticks and a mobile phone.
In total, they found 5,049 indecent images, from Category A - the most serious - Category B and Category C. They included children as young as two and were downloaded between February 2020 and May 2023.
But Bacha was found to be in communication with another paedophile and had sent him 50 files from all three categories between August 2020 and May 2023, when he was arrested.
He admitted three counts of possessing indecent images, and three of distributing images.
Mitigating, Amy Levitt said Bacha had entered guilty pleas early and has no previous convictions. But she pointed to his diagnoses and said: “He has suffered from poor mental health for some considerable time.
“He expresses great shame and remorse and has been incredibly fearful of today’s hearing, anticipating that the court will have an immediate custodial sentence in mind.”
She said that Bacha’s offending spans the pandemic and lockdown which “exacerbated” the situation, along with his redundancy from work. She said he “struggles socially” and had turned to drugs.
She added: “He’s inspired to get back to work and live substance-free. He is desperate to work with probation. He is a highly-motivated individual.”
Judge Tahir Khan KC told Bacha that there was “no doubt” that a custodial sentence was called for, but said he was taking his age, lack of previous convictions, his diagnoses and that he would be “extremely vulnerable in custody”, so opted to suspend the sentence.
He gave him a 24-month jail term, suspended for 24 months - the maximum sentence length that was suspendible.
He was given 35 rehabilitation days with probation, a 10-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) to limit his interet use, and put on the sex offender register for 10 years.