Sex offender who befriended girls online jailed

A Bradford man who befriended girls aged seven and eight online before committing a series of child sex offences has been jailed for six years.

Rehan Ali, 24, of Falsgrave Avenue, was jailed at Bradford Crown Court on Monday after admitting five offences.

West Yorkshire Police said the offences took place between October and November 2024 and included inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity and engaging in sexually explicit communications with children.

PC William Metcalf said: "Ali used social media to target and exploit children."

Ali admitted two counts of inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

He also admitted making an indecent photograph of a child, attempting to incite a girl aged between 13 and 15 to engage in sexual activity, and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

Police said he befriended two girls, aged seven and eight, online during the offending.

He also contacted what he believed was a 13-year-old girl through Facebook and WhatsApp, engaging in sexual communications and attempting to encourage sexual activity.

However, officers said the account was in fact a decoy profile operated by an online child abuse group.

PC Metcalf, of Bradford's Online Child Abuse Investigation Team, said Ali had deliberately contacted underage girls "for his own sexual gratification".

He added: "As a police force, we remain committed to safeguarding children and would encourage parents and young people to report any concerns about suspicious online content to us."

As well as being jailed for six years, Ali was made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placed on the sex offenders register.

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