S'pore freelance music composer, 34, had over 19,200 files of porn & child abuse materials, gets 22 months' jail & caning

A freelance music composer, 34-year-old Iliya Zaki Aziz, was found in possession of over 1,200 photos and videos of child sexual abuse material.

The Straits Times reported on Wednesday (Oct. 8) that Iliya was sentenced to 22 months' jail and two strokes of the cane.

He had searched the Internet for material involving underage girls, and had translated his search terms into multiple languages.

He also accessed the dark web to find underage pornography and joined group chats on Telegram which shared materials from sources like OnlyFans.

He was eventually arrested in October 2021.

Used different languages to broaden the search results

According to court documents seen by Mothership, sometime in early 2020, Iliya developed an interest in girls who were between 15 and 16 years of age.

He searched for pornographic content on the Internet, including those involving schoolgirls and underage girls who looked mature.

In order to broaden the search results, he also translated the search terms into Thai, Vietnamese, Russian and Indonesian.

He also looked for video recordings involving hidden cameras and voyeurism.

Created accounts on social media platforms

Iliya also created accounts on social media platforms such as Tumblr and joined various group chats on Telegram where members circulated pornographic materials, including those from Onlyfans.

By using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) and secure browser, Iliya subsequently gained access to the dark web where he could obtain child abuse materials.

In 2021, Iliya chanced upon several weblinks to "underaged/child porn" and clicked on one of them.

He paid a subscription fee using cryptocurrency and downloaded the pornographic materials onto his desktop.

He also subscribed to an online storage service to store the materials he had downloaded.

His arrest

On Oct. 7, 2021, acting on information gathered, officers from the Specialised Crime Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Singapore Police Force raided Iliya's Housing Development Board (HDB) flat and seized his electronic devices.

He was found in possession of about 1.37 terabytes worth of pornographic and child abuse materials, totalling 19,266 images and videos.

Of these, 1,249 were child abuse materials, 697 were voyeuristic in nature and 17,320 were video files classified as obscene.

Suffered from Persistent Depressive Disorder

An assessment by the Institute of Mental Health found that Iliya suffered from Persistent Depressive Disorder, but the condition had no contributory link to his offences.

According to ST, Deputy Public Prosecutor Hidayat Amir highlighted that Iliya's capacity for self-control and restraint was not impaired, meaning that his actions were driven by "habit" and "did not amount to a mental disorder".

Sentenced to 22 months' imprisonment and two strokes of the cane

The prosecution described the offences as "egregious" due to the extreme vulnerability of the victims.

"There is real harm to the victims whose abuse forms the content of child abuse material, who are losing their childhood, their innocence and ultimately their human dignity," they said.

As such, in order to deter the circulation and consumption of child abuse material, the prosecution sought for a sentence of 24 to 27 months' imprisonment and three to four strokes of the cane.

ST reported that Iliya's lawyer asked for a lighter sentence of 12 months' jail with no caning, claiming that Iliya had downloaded content without direct knowledge that it contained sexual abuse material.

She said that Iliya "[did] not belong to the predatory group looking for child sexual abuse material in the particularly vulnerable prepubescent age range".

She further added that the criminal charge served as a wake-up call for Iliya, who has since turned to religion, undergone counselling and currently volunteers at a mosque.

She said that he has been appointed an imam and is now "widely regarded as a role model for resilience, repentance and reform".

He also reportedly plans to pursue a diploma in Islamic studies and marry his fiancee.

According to ST, Iliya pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child abuse material in court on Oct. 8.

Another two charges of possessing voyeuristic images and recordings, as well as obscene films, were taken into consideration for his sentencing.

He was ultimately sentenced to 22 months' jail and two strokes of the cane.

Top photos via Canva, Mothership