A BRADFORD man’s mobile phone was found to contain indecent images of children as young as three when police raided his home.

Prosecutor Abigail Langford told Bradford Crown Court that 26-year-old Golahmad Habibi had come to the force’s attention when he uploaded an image via Google in January 2022.

He was traced via his email address and arrested in August of that year.

When his phone was seized it was found to contain more than 600 indecent images of children ranging from category C to category A, the most serious, including 86 videos.

He also had 66 prohibited images on his phone.

The youngest child in the category A photographs was three years old.

Ms Langford said Habibi, of Upper Rushton Road, Bradford Moor, said in an interview that the phone had been given to him and that another person was responsible for the photographs and videos found on it.

He initially pleaded not guilty to possessing indecent photographs and prohibited images but later changed his plea to guilty.

Mitigating, Frances Pencheon said Habibi, an Afghan national who spoke via an interpreter, had found it difficult to acknowledge what he had done.

She said he was remorseful, deeply ashamed, and embarrassed, and wished to apologise to the court.

She added: “He is terrified of the situation he now finds himself in.”

Sentencing Habibi, His Honour Judge Ahmed Nadim said in order to create the photographs and videos he had downloaded, children had been subjected to pain, humiliation, and degradation that would have scarred them for life.

Feeding that demand meant more children would be abused.

He added: “Additionally there is always a risk that someone such as you who has a sexual interest in child abuse pornography may translate his fantasies into actions and expose children to the risk of abuse.”

For possession of category A photographs he sentenced Habibi to 12 months in prison suspended for 18 months and ordered him to carry out 35 rehabilitation activity requirement (RAR) days “to give you the tools and skills that you need to explore your sexuality within the bounds of the law without exposing young, vulnerable children to the risk of sexual harm.”

For the category B images Habibi was given a six-month sentence suspended for 18 months plus 35 RAR days. For the category C and prohibited images he was handed an 18-month community order for each plus 35 RAR days. All are to run concurrently.

Habibi was made the subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and will have to sign the sex offender’s register for the same period.

All devices seized in the police raid were ordered to be forfeited and destroyed.