Congleton man jailed for online sexual offences involving children

A man from Congleton has been jailed for seventeen months for sexual offences involving two children.

Syed Ali, 33, appeared at Chester Crown Court on 25 September 2024 where he was sentenced to 17 months imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child under 13 and inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

The court heard that on 7 July 2021, Cheshire Police had been contacted by Sussex Police informing them that they had identified a man from Cheshire who had sent sexually explicit images to a child.

Sussex Police informed Cheshire officers that the parent of a 13-year-old girl had told them that she had been contacted on multiple social media platforms by a man in his 30s. The girl had entered a private chat with the man on the social media platform Discord.

Once in the chat, the man proceeded to send the child sexually inappropriate messages, asking her for explicit photos of herself and requesting her location. Enquires conducted by Sussex Police had identified the man as living in Congleton, and he would later be confirmed as Syed Ali.

Sussex Police's investigation was subsequently transferred to Cheshire Police.

On 8 August 2021, Cheshire Police received a further report from Dyfed Powys Police, stating that a 12-year-old girl had received several inappropriate messages and pictures from an unknown man. The man had asked the child their age, telling her he was 14, and sent multiple explicit pictures. Enquiries conducted by Dyfed Powys colleagues had, again, linked the man to an address in Congleton and he would later be identified as Ali, with their investigation also transferred to Cheshire.

A Cheshire Police investigation into similar offences committed by Ali was already underway, with the 33-year-old currently on police bail. The incidents from both Sussex and Dyfed Powys pre-dated the Cheshire investigation and, following these reports, officers conducted a raid at Syed's home address, where he was arrested at the scene on suspicion of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child under 13 and inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

His phone and other devices were also seized.

Subsequent forensic enquiries revealed that Ali had created accounts on Tinder, WeChat, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and many others, including the online videogame Roblox. Internet search history was also taken from Ali's devices, with data revealing that he had searched phrases including "grooming schoolgirls" and "grooming web girls" and used several email addresses, internet aliases and usernames.

When given the chance to explain himself in interview, Ali gave no comment to questions directed toward him. Despite this, he was subsequently charged and later pleaded guilty of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child under 13 and inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Syed Ali, of Wallworths Bank, Congleton was sentenced to 17 months imprisonment. The 33-year-old was also issued with a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, an indefinite restraining order and must follow notification requirements for 10 years.

Following sentencing, Detective Sergeant Laura Fox, of Eastern CID, said:

"No one should be subjected to the type of explicit content Syed Ali was creating, let alone a child. There are many ways that children communicate online and I urge parents to remain vigilant and seek support if something does not seem right. I hope his prison sentence will provide the victims and their families with a sense of closure.

"Offenders such as Ali may think that they are anonymous or free from persecution just because they can hide behind a computer or phone screen, but that is not the case - we have the capabilities and resources to locate the creators of this type of content and will do all we can to bring them to justice.

"I would urge anyone, who has been a victim of a sexual offence, online or not, to come forward and report it to Cheshire Police on 101 or through our website.”

Pictured - Syed Ali.