Ali Akbar

Introduction

Ali Akbar is a Scottish man convicted by a unanimous jury of two charges of serious sexual assaults against two females — one a teenager and one so young she had only just started primary school — committed while they were, in effect, left in his care. Sentencing him on 30 September 2026, Judge Craig told Akbar he had been a trusted adult who opportunistically took advantage of the children in their places of safety, and noted with concern that he carried a directly analogous conviction for a sexual assault which occurred between the two assaults of which the jury convicted him. The total custodial sentence is six years, backdated to his remand on 7 August 2026 .

Background Information

The jury’s verdicts covered two charges: an attempted rape of a young child, and lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour towards a child under the age of 16. Akbar assaulted the two victims at a time when he was in his late teens and into his 20s, in a manner the judge found involved a significant breach of trust. “You knew exactly how young they each were, that you were a trusted adult in their lives and opportunistically took advantage of them when they were, in effect, left in your care,” Judge Craig said; he assaulted them in their place of safety, where they should have been protected and able to live free from worry and fear .

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Convicted at trial of the attempted rape of a young child and indecent conduct toward a girl under 16; jailed six years.

Akbar took the case to trial, requiring his victims to give evidence in court, though the judge acknowledged that to an extent he accepts responsibility for the offences and has expressed a degree of regret. A number of people spoke in his support, including character references handed in on the sentencing morning, and the justice social work report was considered. But the court identified an aggravating feature the references could not answer: between the two assaults of which he was convicted, Akbar was convicted of a further sexual assault — meaning his record now shows three separate serious sexual assaults over several years against three separate victims. “They cannot be characterised as some kind of moment of madness,” the judge said .

Standing alone, charge 2 — the attempted rape of a young child — would have drawn five years’ custody and charge 3 three years, but the judge adjusted the overall sentence to no more than necessary, arriving at a total of six years backdated to 7 August 2026. The aggravating factors were the gross breach of trust and the location of the assaults; the mitigating factors were few .

Public Reaction and Consequences

The Crown sought non-harassment orders in relation to each of the victims, which Akbar did not oppose; for an indefinite period he may not contact, approach or communicate with them, or attempt to, by any means, directly or indirectly. He will remain subject to the notification requirements applicable to sex offenders for an indefinite period, and his name will be added to the lists of persons deemed unsuitable to work with vulnerable groups. The judge, weighing the guidelines on rape, held that given the totality of his offending behaviour only a custodial sentence was appropriate .

Current Status

Akbar is serving a six-year custodial sentence imposed on 30 September 2026 after the jury’s unanimous verdict, with the term running from his August 2026 remand. His risk of sexual reoffending was assessed as low — principally because of the time elapsed and what was described as his otherwise pro-social lifestyle — but the sentence, the indefinite notification requirements and the vulnerable-groups bar all flow from the jury’s findings .

Impact on Their Career/Life

The conviction record now standing against Akbar — three serious sexual assaults against three victims across several years, with the middle conviction sitting between the two jury findings — forecloses any work with children or vulnerable groups for life. The judge’s published remark that these were not moments of madness, alongside the gross-breach-of-trust finding, forms the permanent judicial characterisation of conduct committed against children who should have been safe in his care .

Sources

• “HMA v Ali Akbar” — Judiciary of Scotland sentencing statement, 30 September 2026: source