Online sexual predator targeted almost 2,000 people worldwide and sold abuse footage as boxsets

Abdul Elahi blackmailed his victims into depraved acts and then sold the footage to paedophiles as boxsets
Abdul Hasib Elahi has been locked up for 32 years.Abdul Hasib Elahi has been locked up for 32 years.
Abdul Hasib Elahi has been locked up for 32 years.

One of Britain’s worst online sexual predators who targeted 2,000 people worldwide before selling sickening footage as boxsets has been jailed for 32 years.

Abdul Elahi, 26, posed as a rich stockbroker on Sugar Daddy websites before blackmailing his victims into performing degrading sexual acts.He then sold the footage to paedophiles around the world in packaged boxsets - which included young women abusing themselves, siblings and children.

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Elahi was ordered to register as a sex offender for life after admitting 158 charges committed against 72 complainants from around the world.

Elahi was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday after the court heard how he tried to exploit victims in 34 different countries from 2017 to 2019.

At the start of a three-day hearing, Elahi was described as being “in a league of his own” in terms of the sheer scale of his offending, often “juggling” tens of potential victims while posing as a wealthy stockbroker offering financial help.

From the sales of his material, he would then launder the money through Amazon gift cards and then buy electrical goods to flog on for cash.

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In one single sale, the McDonald’s worker traded a terabyte of twisted images and footage - amounting to 1,000 hours of video and 310,000 photos.

Around 550 females in Britain are believed to have been targeted by Elahi.

Elahi was jailed for 32 years over the sickening offences.Elahi was jailed for 32 years over the sickening offences.
Elahi was jailed for 32 years over the sickening offences.

Elahi admitted 158 online sexual offences

Some of Elahi’s victims attempted suicide after he uploaded videos of them to porn websites even bragging: “Pornhub are going to love this.”

The warped paedophile previously admitted 158 online sexual offences after he targeted nearly 2,000 victims in 34 countries between 2017 and 2019.

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Elahi was branded “depraved”, “abhorrent” and “callous” by a judge as he was jailed for 32 years with an extended license period of eight years.

Sentencing at at Birmingham Crown Court, Judge Sarah Buckingham said: “Your offending is prolific and involved at least 72 victims.

“You showed a complete and utter disregard for the welfare of every victim you manipulated irrespective of their age and there was a sadistic element to your offending.

“Your distribution of images was on a vast scale and allowed you to make money which you then laundered.

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“You used multiple fake online personas to encourage women to perform sexual acts. These were not porn stars bur real women who provided the images.

“You were sophisticated in your operation. You wiped imagery from your phone , you packaged up these products into boxsets to be sold.

“There are so many examples of your sadistic and degrading exploitation and blackmail of these women it would take days to cover it all again.

“Your demands increased in their viciousness and brutality and however much your victims pleaded for mercy you ignored their pleas.

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“Even when they were driven to suicide you sneered in the face of their despair.

The judge went on to say he posed a significant risk to the public and was a “very dangerous” man.

She added: “You were motivated by a feeling of power and control over women, you were attracted to the financial reward you could achieve.

“You were utterly devoid of any empathy and regret for the pain and suffering you inflicted.

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“You will remain a danger for some years to come. You are an example of one of the very worst type of predatory offenders ever apprehended thus far.”

Elahi systematically targeted women

The court heard Elahi, of Sparkhill, Birmingham, systematically targeted women and used pseudonyms online to attract women.

First asking for photos of women in high heels, he would then ask them for more sexually explicit images.

The court heard how his demands became more depraved.

He would make them hold signs up for the camera including “Rape me” and “I’m a child molester.”

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He would also ask the young women if they had children and how old they were, as he had “an interest in incest videos” and wanted to sell them online around the world.

Elahi also forced some victims to self-mutilate and blackmailed women to send him footage of themselves abusing young children - some as young as eight-months old.

After some of his victims refused he threatened to expose previous photos sent to Elahi to family and work colleagues.

Elahi boasted about his jet-set lifestyle and how he used private jets to fly to Los Angeles – in fact, he was living with his parents and working in McDonalds.

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Prosecutor Andrew Langdale had branded Elahi “one of the most serious sexual predators online that has been seen before this court”.

 Abdul Hasib Elahi and Kirsty Nicholls Abdul Hasib Elahi and Kirsty Nicholls
Abdul Hasib Elahi and Kirsty Nicholls

‘Abuse against others was his full time occupation’

He added: “Elahi is in a league of his own. He taught others how to abuse women and children.

“This is child abuse imagery he distributed; we argue he is a dangerous predator.

“Abuse against others was his full time occupation.”

Graham Arnold, defending, said: “It may be something that means nothing to the victims but he wants me to express his deepest remorse.

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“He pushed people to do depraved things at their own great cost. He is trying to look into himself to see why and it is a very dark place.

“The truth is that he is struggling to find any light but all I can say on his behalf is that he is trying.”

Appearing alongside Elahi in the dock was Kirsty Nicholls, 35, who previously pleaded guilty to two charges of sexual assault of a child and one of making an indecent photo.

After Elahi’s arrest in July 2018, officers from the NCA, the FBI, and Australian and New Zealand police found phone messages between the pair.

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Nicholls, of Northolt, Middlesex, was jailed for six years and nine months on Friday, the court was told she met Elahi through Sugar Daddy websites.

Judge Buckinghamshire said: “The difference between you and his victims was that you were willing to do as he asked.

“You are intelligent and aware what you were doing was horribly wrong and in your own words sick.”

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