Paedophile bailed back to flat above playground despite police protests as victims' commissioner says children were 'grossly failed'

From the Newshound archive · first published 24 September 2026 · last updated 27 September 2026.

Zafer Dogan, 32, a mechanic from Enfield, north London, was jailed for two years and four months after secretly photographing more than 5,000 women and girls and using AI software to create naked images of them — including a seven-year-old and a thirteen-year-old. Despite police and Crown Prosecution Service repeatedly opposing bail, courts sent him back to his flat overlooking a children's playground, forcing one victim's family to flee to temporary accommodation. Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley attended the sentencing at Wood Green Crown Court and declared outside that 'children should be put first, not the paedophile'. Prime Minister Andy Burnham called the case 'disturbing' and said Rowley's viewpoint 'needs to be heard'.

Dogan fled police on arrest — slipping his handcuffs, running, and throwing his phone into a garden.

London Victims' Commissioner Andrea Simon blamed prison capacity pressures for judges routinely overriding police bail objections.

Burnham has backed calls for a multi-agency review of the 'significant cross-justice failings' exposed by the case.