Warwickshire doctor found with indecent images of children handed suspended sentence

A doctor employed at a Warwickshire hospital has been convicted of downloading and accessing child abuse material.

Sharmake Abdulahi Maxamed, a 29-year-old Swedish national, was found in possession of more than 50 indecent images and videos of children, according to the National Crime Agency.

Of the images, 28 were deemed category A, the most extreme.

Maxamed's conviction follows a global policing operation. In July 2020, the NCA was alerted by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) after an online account linked to Maxamed received a folder containing several hundred files.The file names indicated that they showed the abuse of children aged between five and 15 years of age, and the sender was an Australian national who had been arrested by the AFP after sharing indecent images of children.In October 2021, NCA officers arrested Maxamed at his home in Leicester. His phone was seized, and officers also found a small quantity of cocaine.Maxamed’s phone was subsequently found to contain 28 category A, 18 category B, and six category C images and videos.Evidence recovered from the device showed that he had searched for the material online and had sent messages to another user, stating that he was in his car and was going to “have a line” before returning to work. He followed this up with a photo of two lines of white powder.He pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, as well as the possession of cocaine, on 12 January 2024 at Leicester Magistrates Court.

On Friday 1 March he was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, at Leicester Crown Court.Danielle Pownall, Senior Investigating Officer, said: “Maxamed sought out images showing the horrific abuse of children.“Thanks to work by dedicated officers at the National Crime Agency, as well as support from our colleagues in Australia, we were able to bring him to justice.“The NCA is committed to protecting children and ensuring that individuals who collect this material, and create a demand for abuse content, are held to account.”Maxamed did not work with children, and, as a newly employed doctor, was still being chaperoned at work prior to his arrest. His contract has been terminated.

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