A supply teacher who secretly took photographs up teenage girls' skirts while working in seven different schools and posted the images on social media has been jailed for six years.
Within months of starting work as an English teacher, Abusali Rahman, 37, began 'brazenly' using a mobile phone poking out of his pocket to capture 'upskirting' images of at least 15 pupils, in some cases following them as they walked upstairs.
The married father of one then posted them on an account on X – formerly Twitter – with 1,000 followers. This ultimately proved to be his downfall, a court heard today.
A mother noticed an image of her daughter's friend in her school uniform on the site and raised the alarm, with police quickly tracing the footage had been taken by a teacher.
Interviewed by detectives, Rahman repeatedly replied 'no comment' when asked about the images on his mobile phone.
The court heard Rahman had approached an imam to explain his concerns about the thoughts he was having.
He was advised to get married and had an arranged marriage to his wife from Bangladesh who came to the UK on a spousal visa.
Video released following his sentencing shows the sex offender's arrogant façade crumbling when an interviewing officer asks how he would feel if his own child was targeted in that way, and he begins sobbing.
Officers identified girls aged between 13 and 16 at seven high schools across Greater Manchester who were allegedly targeted by Abusali Rahman
Footage of Rahman being interviewed by police has been released following his sentencing
Following an investigation into upskirting and voyeurism, officers established that 15 girls aged between 13 and 16 at seven high schools across Greater Manchester were targeted by Rahman over an 18-month period.
In all the identified cases, their schools – in Bury, Bolton and Salford – and parents have been informed.
However, officers have not been able to establish the names of three girls.
The former teacher pleaded guilty to 21 child sex offences at a previous hearing, some of them involving creating AI-generated images.
At Bolton Crown Court he was today also made subject of a 20-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order to prevent further offending.
Jailing Rahman for six years, Judge Kenderik Horne told the defendant: 'You were a trusted supply teacher, your position of trust gave you access to schools and classrooms, you were trusted to be in close proximity to school girls.
'You abused that trust. You posted images of girls from your schools wearing school uniforms alongside graphic images of sexual activity.'
British-born Rahman, who has dual Bangladeshi nationality, graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a teaching degree in July 2023.
The following September he started work as a supply teacher, covering lessons at 25 schools before his arrest.
But later that term he began secretly taking pictures of girls using a mobile phone tucked into his pocket.
'This man became involved in the indecent images of children almost as soon as he became a teacher,' said Detective Constable Lisa McGaffin of Greater Manchester Police.
'They have been exploited by someone in a position of trust and we are horrified at what has happened.'
Video shows the sex offender's arrogant façade crumbling when the interviewing officer asks how he would feel if his own child was targeted in that wayand Rahman begins sobbing
Some were taken as girls walked up flights of stairs in front of him, others in the classroom.
Rahman then uploaded them onto an X profile with about 1,000 followers.
The alarm was raised in March 2025 when a parent spotted an image of her daughter's friend, and he was arrested.
In other images he had super-imposed one girl’s face on a woman wearing a bikini and another in a PVC suit, the court heard.
Further images of young females had been posted by the account, with captions such as 'daddy', 'agegap' and 'ddlgkink' (daddy dom/little girl).
Analysis of his devices uncovered 226 category C images, 25 of category B and 12 of category A, the most explicit.
Rahman has never explained his actions to detectives but at a previous hearing in May his barrister Emma Kehoe said he had been 'going through a mental health crisis at the time'.
He admitted 12 counts of taking an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child, four counts of publishing an obscene article, three counts of making indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child, one count of distributing an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child, and one count of operating equipment beneath clothing of another without consent, known as upskirting.
Police say none of the girls they have identified as victims would have had any idea they were targeted.
But Detective Inspector Dan Appleby, of Greater Manchester Police, told the Daily Mail that Rahman's offences were 'brazen' and 'done in plain sight'.
Officers have left the girls' parents to decide whether to let them know they were among the pupils preyed on by Rahman.
One girl who had been identified through Rahman’s use of her social media profile photo suffered comments at school and told police she felt embarrassed and 'weirded out' and another girl was left 'disgusted and upset'.
Police say Rahman's use of AI to create additional explicit images is 'incredibly worrying' and harder to tackle due to gaps in legislation.
Experts last year warned of 'a massive explosion' in boys – some as young as 13 – using free AI programs to create lifelike fake nude images of fellow pupils.
The apps can turn fully clothed photos of classmates – as well as teachers – into realistic-looking explicit nude images.
They are thought to now be in use in 'every classroom' and teenage pupils have already been convicted of creating and sharing the images.
Alexandra Mann, a senior Crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said today: 'Abusali Rahman abused his position as a teacher to capture images of children without their knowledge in a school environment where they were entitled to feel safe.
'Rahman also created and shared sexualised deepfake images of pupils on social media which is a gross breach of trust.
'Misuse of emerging technology is a serious crime, and it has had a profound impact on both the victims and wider community.
'We worked with police to piece together strong evidence from his devices and locations at the time the photos were taken to build a comprehensive picture exposing the extent of his offending.
'I hope this case send a clear message that we will robustly prosecute those who use technology to exploit children.'
Rahman was also put on the Sex Offenders Register and given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, banning him from working in schools for 20 years.
Emma Kehoe, defending Rahman, said it was not the prosecution’s case that he became a teacher simply to prey on girls.
She added: 'He knows what he did is horrendous. It was through his religious education that led to him studying and becoming a teacher.
'The reality is, his arrest came as a relief, because there’s nothing in his background to suggest he’s been anything other than a good member of society, father, husband and son.
'He found himself out of control and unable to stop. He did reach out for help. He went to speak to an imam and shared concerns about his thoughts.'