22 May 2015
A “dangerous” sex offender convicted of a string of child sex crimes was questioned and released by police more than two years earlier, it has emerged.
Bahmani Ahmadi, 22, is awaiting sentencing after admitting 18 charges, including sexual assault and grooming.
Northumbria Police said Bahmani Ahmadi was arrested and released without charge in 2012 after complaints he had sex with a 15-year-old-girl from a care home.
The force said he had subsequently been convicted of the offence.
Temporary assistant chief constable Debbie Ford said: “We did investigate him at the time, but at the time we found there was no case to answer and we didn’t take it any further forward.”
Ahmadi was questioned but a senior officer decided that no further action should be taken and the case was not referred to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Ahmadi, of Hampstead Road, Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 8, was arrested in 2014 as part of Operation Sanctuary – a police inquiry into the sexual abuse and grooming of vulnerable young women on Tyneside.
Ms Ford said: “We are going to look at the investigation into the case, our professional standards department are investigating that matter now and it’s difficult for me to comment any further in relation to how that investigation may pan out in the future.
“We’re trying to understand the reasons why the investigation was concluded without any charges being brought back in 2012.
“I would assure the public we will do everything we can to make sure that that investigation is carried out thoroughly and properly and if any issues arise from that investigation, they will be dealt with robustly.”
The force is continuing to investigate Ahmadi, who “relentlessly” pursued victims as young as 11 online.
He posed as a 14-year-old named Holly to befriend his targets and plied many of them with alcohol.
Northumbria Police Det Supt Steve Barron said he was “possibly the most dangerous person” he had come across in 22 years of policing.
Ahmadi will be sentenced in July at Newcastle Crown Court.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-32852928
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Police officer who could have stopped vile paedophile Bahmani Ahmadi is sacked and labelled ‘grossly incompetent’
Police officer failed to examine phone of Bahmani Ahmadi who was later jailed for abusing 10 girls
09 Aug 2017
A police officer who could have stopped a vile paedophile in his tracks while protecting 10 more victims from abuse has been sacked.
Bahmani Ahmadi was branded one of the UK’s ‘most dangerous’ sex predators after he was jailed for a string of sexual offences against girls as young as 11.
But it emerged in court that police missed a vital opportunity to snare the pervert in 2012, leaving him free to roam the streets and abuse girls for two more years before he was eventually arrested.
We can today reveal that the officer, who failed to examine Ahmadi’s mobile phone which would have shown he was grooming girls for sex, has been sacked by Northumbria Police.
Details of the dismissal can be made public for the first time today after a court order preventing the publication of all cases linked to the Operation Sanctuary investigations was lifted.
Northumbria’s Chief Constable Steve Ashman said: “It was grossly incompetent. If we don’t look for this abuse we aren’t going to find it. He was grossly negligent in his duties and he was dismissed.”
Ahmadi, from Benwell, Newcastle, was arrested in June 2012 when the first of his young victims came forward.
But the police officer, dealing with the complaint did not interrogate his mobile or refer the case to the CPS and he was released with no further action.
Had the device been examined it could have revealed that the then 23-year-old was actively grooming young girls for sex.
And, by the time Ahmadi was arrested again in 2014 he had gone on to commit sex offences against more than 10 vulnerable girls, some as young as 11.
Ahmadi, of Hampstead Road, pleaded guilty to 18 charges at the Newcastle Crown Court in 2015.
The offences included two counts of sexual activity with a 15-year-old, in relation to his 2012 victim, two counts of sexual assault on two child victims, two counts of trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation, and one count of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.
He also pleaded guilty to inciting a girl of 17 into prostitution, five counts of inciting children under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and five counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity where the victims were 13 to 16.
The court heard how Ahmadi had posed as a 14-year-old girl on Facebook to pursue his vulnerable victims and then offer them money for sex.
He also organised and paid for taxis to transport some of the girls to his home.
Ahmadi was finally caught after he came back to the attention of detectives following the launch of Operation Sanctuary in 2014. He was arrested in a police sting when officers posed as a young girl called Chelsea, on Facebook, and arranged a meeting.
This time police did seize his phone.
Amanda Ripon, prosecuting, said: “There was renewed interest in the defendant, which resulted in the initial allegations being looked at again and, this time, the mobile phone seized was recovered and examined. A significant amount of data was recovered, including sexual messages to the first complainant.”
After the case, Det Supt Steve Barron, who heads up the Sanctuary investigations said: “Bahmani Ahmadi is a dangerous predatory paedophile. He deliberately targeted vulnerable young girls through multiple Facebook accounts using a false female identity in order to groom them. He often supplied the girls with alcohol and then committed dreadful sexual crimes against them. The volume of his offending, which I believe has gone on for several years, makes him one of the most dangerous sexual offenders I have come across.”
Ahmadi was originally jailed for just four and a half years. But judges at London’s Appeal Court extended the prison term by two years after ruling the sentence passed at Newcastle Crown Court earlier this year was ruled “unduly lenient”.
Following the investigation a police misconduct hearing was held and the officer behind the original blunder was sacked.
Chief Cons Ashman added: “When we have reviewed our misconduct with Ahmadi it was apparent an officer had not done as he should have to such a scale that he was dismissed.”
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/police-officer-who-could-stopped-13452208
Ahmadi surname origin
The Ahmadi surname has its origins in the Middle East, particularly in modern-day Iran, Iraq, and parts of the Arabian Peninsula. It is derived from the Arabic word “Ahmad,” which means “highly praised” or “praiseworthy.” The surname is a patronymic, indicating a descendant of Prophet Muhammad’s praised namesake.
The Ahmadi surname is also found in various countries, including Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and some African countries. It is primarily associated with the Ahmadi yya branch of Islam, and the term “Ahmadi” refers to people who follow this branch.
The Ahmadi surname has a rich history and is associated with various notable individuals, including scholars and mathematicians. It is a testament to the enduring legacy of the name Ahmad and its significance in the Islamic faith. And now child rapists.