File Photo. Asif Hassan—AFP
The 46-year-old had reportedly been deported from Italy and the U.K. over similar offenses
Police in Pakistan on Tuesday announced they had arrested a man suspected of running a child pornography group and livestreaming sexual assaults of multiple children.
Sohail Ayaz, 46, was taken into custody from Rawalpindi’s Rawat area. According to a statement issued by police he has already confessed to sexually assaulting 30 children. He is also suspected of having kidnapped and raped multiple children. Per local media, he was arrested for allegedly drugging and raping a 13-year-old boy and filming it.
Ayaz, per police, had been employed with the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governance and Policy Project as a consultant for the past two years against a salary of Rs. 300,000. They say Ayaz, a chartered accountant, has been living in Pakistan since being deported from the U.K. in 2009 after being convicted of similar offenses. A police spokesman alleged most of Ayaz’s salary went into supporting his criminal activities, with him spending money on streaming equipment and drugs. “We have sent his laptop and equipment to the forensic lab for tests,” he added.
According to Rawalpindi City Police Officer Captain Faisal Rana, the suspect was also deported from Italy, where is he alleged to have been part of a child pornography ring.
Rana said that police would register cases of child sexual abuse against Ayaz if the parents of any of his targets were unable to do so due to either societal pressure or financial issues. Federal law enforcement agencies have been contacted to help recover any explicit videos and pictures in the possession of the suspect, he added.