Man jailed for five years for distributing child sex-abuse material

A 24-year-old pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison after possessing and distributing child sex-abuse material because he was “affected” by it.

Sezan Sarder, 24, a Bangladeshi national who resides in St. Paul's Bay, has been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for possessing and distributing child sex-abuse material.

The case dates back to October 2024, when police were alerted to four videos, one involving an adult and three involving children below the age of nine, that had been sent via Facebook Messenger under a false name to a friend in China.

A search at his St Paul’s Bay residence led police to seize three mobile phones and a laptop. The first phone examined contained no illicit material, but the second device revealed the same videos hidden in a deleted WhatsApp folder.

Sarder was interrogated twice and, during his second statement, admitted to receiving the videos and then forwarding them, telling police he had been deeply “affected” by their content.

In court, the visibly panicked accused reconfirmed his “very, very guilty” plea after being warned of the consequences. He explained that he had shared the material only to show how disturbed he felt by it, insisting he had deleted the videos in January. His lawyer reiterated that the circulation had been limited to a single instance.

Prosecuting Inspector Warren Chris Muscat noted the gravity of the offences, citing the very young age of the victims and the nature of the content, and requested an effective prison term of three to five years.

He acknowledged, however, that Sarder was a first-time offender, had admitted to the charges at an early stage, and had cooperated with investigators.

Legal aid lawyer Axel Camilleri argued his client understood the seriousness of the case and had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

He urged the court to consider the context in which the offences occurred and to impose a sentence closer to the statutory minimum.

Inspector Warren Muscat prosecuted. Legal aid lawyer Axel Camilleri represented the accused.

Magistrate Noel Bartolo presided over the case.