
Middlesbrough man who raped two women has jail term challenged
A rapist who attacked two women within an hour of each other will have his sentence reviewed over concerns it is too lenient.Haider Ali, of Ayresome Road, Middlesbrough, was jailed for 10 years after raping his victims in separate late-night attacks in Stockton last September.The Attorney General's Office confirmed his sentence would be considered at the Court of Appeal on 17 June, after it was referred under the unduly lenient sentencing scheme.Ali had initially denied the charges, claiming the sex was consensual, but was convicted following a trial at Teesside Crown Court.
The court was told Ali raped the first woman at the side of a derelict building near Yarm Road, at about midnight on 7 September 2024.He was captured running away on CCTV .An hour later, he attacked a second woman in the same place after she had been walking along Spring Street.
In a victim statement read out in court, one of the women said: "I was in so much pain after the attack, I feel horrible inside.''I had the daily struggle leading up to the trial thinking he would get away with it."Cleveland Police praised the ''courage and determination'' of the victims for coming forward and helping bring Ali to justice.
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The Sun
20 minutes ago
- The Sun
My stepdad has been keeping a secret stash of deep fake naked photos of me – and he sends them to his mates
1 DEAR DEIDRE: DISCOVERING that my stepdad has a secret stash of naked images of me that he's been sharing with his mates has completely unsettled me. The images are deeply troubling; they are all snaps taken of me, by my mum from holidays or days out over the years. He has then run them through an app to make me look naked. I was so shocked when I saw the images that I confronted him straight away. He didn't really have an explanation. He simply said he'd heard about the app and thought it wouldn't work but was curious and tried it anyway. I'm 24 now and my stepdad has been in my life for 12 years when he and my mum met. My dad had left when I was a toddler and didn't want any part of my life so I was really pleased that my stepdad showed an interest. We have always had a pretty good relationship but even though I realise the naked body isn't mine it still feels like such a betrayal. My stepdad picked me up from a late night out. It was about 1 am in the morning and when we got home we put some cheese and toast on, as is our tradition. He was sorting out the grill when I noticed tonnes of notifications on his mobile which he'd left on the table. Curious, I slid the phone over and saw loads of comments like 'so hot', 'lucky you' and 'perfection'. I easily guessed his code and then the room started to spin when I realised all these men were referring to naked images of me. My stepdad broke out in a sweat when he returned to find me frozen in shock and started muttering that it was just a silly mistake and I should forget about it. Dear Deidre on relationships, jealousy and envy I don't know how I managed it but I got back in the car with him and he drove me home. I've avoided him for the past few weeks and now I'm accelerating my plan of moving out because I can't bear to be near him. But I'm so worried about my mum. How can I tell her what her now husband has done? Wouldn't I be better off finding my own place and avoiding him than ruining everything? DEIDRE SAYS: Your stepdad has completely betrayed you and left you feeling responsible for his appalling behaviour. Now you are even considering a complete relocation, to avoid any confrontation. Firstly your biological father abandoned you. And now your stepdad, a man you hoped would right the wrongs of your biological father, has let you down badly. It seems your step dad has been exchanging these deep fake images of you with acquaintances. Your stepdad may want you to believe that this was 'just a silly mistake' but creating deepfake nudes, using AI technology to depict people in sexually explicit situations and then spreading and sharing them online is deeply troubling. Your stepdad could well be liable for prosecution as exchanging these images online amounts to abuse. I'm sure you have already started to worry what else your stepdad may have hidden away and you'll no doubt be looking back over your life with a whole new perspective and you'll be questioning everything. I know you are worried about telling your mum, but that really is the best thing you can do. Give her the opportunity to support you and help you find a way forward. You deserve that. You can get support from the Revenge Porn Helpline ( And I'm sorry but as your stepdad has shared these images online they may have ended up on adult sites. Please get in contact with Take It Down (takeit d to learn how you can get these images removed. Dear Deidre's Porn Files Deidre's mailbag is stashed full with porn problems. One reader struggled to manage his addiction to racy videos, a different subscriber wrote in because she was being blackmailed with deep fake images by a work colleague, while one man decided to post sexy photos of his wife online. THE LAW: AI DEEP FAKE PORN AI deep fake pornography – where someone's face is digitally superimposed onto a sexualised or explicit body – is one of the fastest-growing and most insidious forms of image-based abuse. These images are often created without the victim's knowledge or consent, and unlike traditional forms of sexual exploitation, they don't require the person to have ever posed nude or even been photographed in a compromising way. The intent is rarely innocent – it's about humiliation, control, or sexual gratification without permission. Until recently, this type of abuse sat outside the boundaries of UK law. But the Online Safety Act 2023 has made it a criminal offence to share explicit deepfake content without the subject's consent. This includes any image or video where a person appears to be engaged in a sexual act or shown nude, regardless of whether it's been digitally manipulated. However, creating or possessing AI-generated nudes – if not shared – remains legally ambiguous. Police response has so far been inconsistent, and many victims report struggling to have their cases taken seriously, especially when the perpetrator is someone they know. Though the images aren't 'real' in the traditional sense, the harm they cause is tangible and can have a lasting impact. Victims report symptoms commonly associated with trauma: shame, anxiety, paranoia, social withdrawal and fear of further exposure. The knowledge that someone – often a colleague, friend, or even family member – has sexualised them without consent is deeply violating and can be traumatic. This is about more than just new technology; it's about power, entitlement and control. AI is simply the tool. The intent is to dehumanise and sexualise without permission. Ask me and my counsellors anything Every problem get a personal and private reply from one of my trained counsellors within one working day. Sally Land is the Dear Deidre Agony Aunt. She achieved a distinction in the Certificate in Humanistic Integrative Counselling, has specialised in relationships and parenting. She has over 20 years of writing and editing women's issues and general features. Passionate about helping people find a way through their challenges, Sally is also a trustee for the charity Family Lives. Her team helps up to 90 people every week. Sally took over as The Sun's Agony Aunt when Deidre Sanders retired from the The Dear Deidre column four years ago. The Dear Deidre Team Of Therapists Also Includes: Kate Taylor: a sex and dating writer who is also training to be a counsellor. Kate is an advisor for dating website OurTime and is the author of five self-help books. Jane Allton: a stalwart of the Dear Deidre for over 20 years. Jane is a trained therapist, who specialises in family issues. She has completed the Basic Counselling Skills Level 1, 2, and 3. She also achieved the Counselling and Psychotherapy (CPCAB) Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Studies. Catherine Thomas: with over two decades worth of experience Catherine has also trained as a therapist, with the same credentials as Jane. She specialises in consumer and relationship issues. Fill out and submit our easy-to-use and confidential form and the Dear Deidre team will get back to you. You can also send a private message on the DearDeidreOfficial Facebook page or email us at: deardeidre@


BBC News
27 minutes ago
- BBC News
WW2 anniversary marked by poppy display at Bognor Regis pier
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BBC News
27 minutes ago
- BBC News
Law change alone not enough to help homeless, say Yorkshire charities
The government has decided to decriminalise homelessness in England and Wales - but charity bosses say the move will do little to give dignity to rough week ministers announced plans to scrap the Vagrancy Act - first introduced in 1824 - with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner labelling it "cruel and outdated".Representatives from homelessness charities in Bradford and Sheffield said they were unaware of the legislation still being used to prosecute people, with a government spokesperson admitting use of the act had "significantly declined over the years".Tim Renshaw, chief executive of the Sheffield-based Cathedral Archer Project, said: "I think it will bypass most people that they could have been arrested purely for being vagrant." Mr Renshaw, whose organisation helps people off the streets, said the law change was "probably going to be trumped up as something it probably isn't"."Nobody is seeing people who don't have homes as criminals by default," he said."They are seeing the behaviour of some of those people who don't have homes as anti-social and are therefore looking for enforcement against that."According to Mr Renshaw, the announcement "lacks the other element of how do we give dignity, if we are not going to say that people are criminals? How do we include them in society?". The Labour government said it planned to replace the Vagrancy Act with "targeted measures" that would "ensure police have the powers they need to keep communities safe".They would include new offences of facilitating begging for gain and trespassing with the intention of committing a Renshaw said any enforcement measures should be accompanied by support for homeless people."If we say: 'You can't do that activity in that place', at the same time we need to be saying: 'How do we support you not to do that activity in this place?'."It's not that enforcement doesn't have a place, it's just that by itself it will only ever displace [from one area to another]."In Sheffield, the Cathedral Archer Project is working on what Mr Renshaw calls a "support model", backed by authorities including the police and city has become more visible in the city centre in recent years, with an outreach charity counting 71 people sleeping rough in and around central Sheffield in August last year. 'Homeless have complex needs' Steve Richardson, a trustee of Bradford charity Homeless Not Hopeless, welcomed the law change as a "great step forward", but said it "should just be the first step"."People can at least live their lives without automatically being criminalised," he said."Let's start putting in place the mechanisms to actually help and support them."Mr Richardson described the Vagrancy Act as "a convenient rule if somebody needed to be moved on as a threat".However, in his view, "just giving people a flat isn't the answer"."These people, after years of sleeping rough, have complex needs," he added."They need some support to address them." Homeless Not Hopeless supports between 100 and 150 people in Bradford every week, a "significant proportion" of whom are homeless, said Mr is based next to railway arches at Forster Square Station, a location where some of the city's homeless would sleep until they were moved on by Bradford Council last year to provide space for art installations as part of City of Culture Richardson said he was "absolutely confident" people on the streets would "pay back every penny of investment to get them back on their feet"."They want jobs, they want to work, to pay tax. Many, many many of them also try to give something back."We have several people we have supported over the years who have come back and volunteered."The government said it had boosted funding for homelessness services by an extra £233m this financial year, bringing total investment for 2025-26 to nearly £1bn.A spokesperson said the deputy prime minister was also developing a new homelessness strategy with other government departments, as well as mayors and councils, to be published later this year. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.