A former teacher who posed as a teenage boy to befriend young girls online —before luring them into an in-person meeting and subsequently sexually assaulting them, has been jailed for 15 years.
Between 2019 and 2023, Syed Shahreear Ahmed, 37, of Mossford Lane, Barkingside, targeted six girls aged between 13 and 15 online, creating and sending indecent images.
Police said Ahmed would use a fake persona and “track children online” before encouraging them to meet him face-to-face.
He would then go on to seriously sexually assault the victims, police said.
Police were first made aware of his crimes in May 2023 when he was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault.
Ahmed was a maths teacher at a secondary school in Essex until he resigned after his arrest on May 3 2023.
He was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Friday. In addition to his prison term, he will spend an additional five years on licence and remain on the sexual offences register for life.
On June 13, at the same court, he was found guilty of 14 child sex offences, including grooming, sexual activity with a child, taking and making indecent images of a child, rape and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
The Metropolitan Police said the verdict comes after a complex investigation spanning five counties and involved collaboration with officers from multiple other police forces.
Detective Inspector Peter Harvey, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Central unit, said: “It is due to the bravery of the girls who came forward that we have been able to achieve this outcome and I thank them for providing the evidence needed to ensure Ahmed will face a long term of imprisonment.
“During a long-running and complex investigation alongside Cambridgeshire, Thames Valley, Essex and Kent Police, we were able to piece together Ahmed’s offending.
“He would track children online, before quickly manufacturing a personal meeting and carrying out the most appalling acts on girls as young as 14-years-old.
“A manipulative serial predator, I remain concerned that Ahmed may have committed other offences that have yet to be reported to us.
“I would urge anyone who may recognise this man and believe he may have come into contact with you or your loved ones to please contact us immediately.
“Specialist officers are available to offer support and signpost to external partners. Any reports will be fully investigated and dealt with the utmost sensitivity, care and compassion.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank colleagues from Cambridgeshire, Thames Valley, Hertfordshire, Essex and Kent Police who showed true professionalism and determination and were key in bringing Ahmed to justice.”
The court heard how Ahmed’s offending first came to light in May 2023 when a 15-year-old girl reported to Kent Police that she had been approached by Ahmed via social media app, Wizz on March 19 that same year.
On May 2, 2023, a 14-year-old girl met Ahmed after speaking online. He attempted to sexually assault her in his car, touching her thigh.
The terrified girl jumped out of Ahmed’s moving vehicle to safety and reported the incident to Kent Police on the same day. The force began to make enquiries.
The two girls separately came forward to police, and a further four were identified and approached directly by police.
Ahmed was arrested on May 3, 2023 by Kent Police on suspicion of sexual assault, grooming and kidnap.
It was quickly established that other police forces were investigating Ahmed, and Met detectives subsequently took over the case due to the geographical spread of the victims.
Detectives downloaded data from two phones seized from Ahmed by Kent Police, uncovering 500 GB of information, including social media interactions, text messages, videos, and images.
Officers spent months reviewing the material, reading over a thousand messages and conversations—some spanning several years—to identify additional potential victims.
This detailed investigation allowed detectives to establish a timeline of Ahmed’s offences, leading to his formal charging on August 16, 2024.
On Friday, June 13, Ahmed was found guilty of three counts of rape of a child; three counts of sexual assault; one count of attempted sexual assault; two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and five counts of meeting a child for sexual grooming.
He had already pleaded guilty to one count of taking an indecent image of a child and three counts of making indecent images of children. The images ranged from category A - the most severe – to category C.
Claire Brinton, Specialist Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Syed Ahmed targeted his young, often vulnerable victims via social media platforms with the sole aim of grooming them for child sexual abuse. He pretended to be a 16-17 year old male and arranged to meet the victims so that he could rape and sexually assault them knowing that they were under 16 years of age. He kept imagery of much of his abuse on his devices.
“The lifelong physical and emotional trauma caused to victims by men like Ahmed cannot be understated.
“We would like to thank the victims in this case for coming forward and reporting this devastating crime. I hope this conviction sends a clear message that the CPS will relentlessly pursue justice and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, whenever that abuse took place.
“I encourage any victims of child sexual abuse and sexual violence to report the crimes committed against them to the police. You are not alone and there is always help available.”
