A Pakistani pedophile has managed to avoid deportation despite preying on “barely pubescent girls” as it would “harm his children”, a court has heard.
The man, who has been granted anonymity for his own protection, was caught in August 2022 messaging decoy children he believed were young girls online.
He was jailed for 18 months, with the judge ruling that he was “in denial” about the offences and that the man had “very little prospect” of rehabilitation.
A lower tribunal judge however later ruled that he should not be deported back to Pakistan as it would be “unduly harsh for the children to be without their father”.
Nadra Almas, from Pakistan, fought a 16-year legal battle against the Home Office to remain in the UKGettyThe judge said it would not be fair on the children, who could see him for up to 12 hours a day under “supervised contact”.
His wife’s claim that she felt partially responsible for his behavior as the two could not have sex whilst she was in hospital for treatment for Covid was also taken into consideration.
The court was told: “Her guilt would be an additional burden and would detrimentally impact her ability to care for her children, albeit not at a level requiring social services intervention.”
However, the ruling has since been appealed by the Home Office, who criticised the decision as “contrary to the evidence, plainly wrong and rationally insupportable”.
Upper tribunal judge Judith Gleeson said the judge had failed to take account of the strength of the sentencing judge’s remarks, adding: “His characterisation of these offences as a mere blip in the appellant’s life is unsound and inadequately reasoned.
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MH told the tribunal hearing that he began grooming the young girls online in March 2021
Getty
“The emphasis on the wife’s failure to provide intimate relations to her husband when she was unwell, and/or a new mother, does not explain why the claimant felt the need to engage with barely pubescent girl children online.
“The absence of marital relations is no excuse and should not have been given weight in the judge’s reasoning.”
The man, known online as MH, arrived in the UK on a spousal visa in 2018, was told he would be deported while in prison in late 2022.
He submitted an appeal on human rights grounds, which was rejected in June 2023, one month after his release, however his second appeal was accepted in June 2024.
MH told the tribunal hearing that he began grooming the young girls online in March 2021, when his wife was in hospital with Covid.
He continued for the next year until digital paedophile hunters caught him and he was arrested.
The case is ongoing.
He began the grooming when his wife was in hospital with Covid
GettyA Home Office spokesman said: “Foreign nationals who commit heinous crimes should be in no doubt that we will do everything to make sure they are not free on Britain’s streets, including removal from the UK at the earliest possible opportunity.
“Since the election, we’ve removed 2,580 foreign criminals, a 23 per cent increase on the same period 12 months prior.”
Social media users fumed at the initial ruling. One said: “Who are the people stopping this? Can we know who they are? Their legal background?
“Why do the rights of criminals/sex offenders trump our rights?” they continued.
Another said: “There's no better evidence that our legal system is corrupted than this. They added: “To make matters worse these relentless finagling appeals are funded with public money.”
A third chimed in: “This defies any sense, surely if he is a convicted paedophile he should not have any contact with his children and we would in fact be keeping them safe by deporting him?”
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