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Conviction for indecent child image and possessing extreme pornography leads to solicitor’s strike-off
A solicitor has been struck off after being convicted of distributing an indecent image of a child and possessing extreme pornographic material, following an agreed outcome approved by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
Sohail Bashir, who was admitted in 2008, faced disciplinary action brought by the Solicitors Regulation Authority after his criminal convictions. The tribunal found that his conduct breached core professional principles and undermined public confidence in the profession.
The misconduct arose on 15 February 2020, when Bashir shared a Category B indecent video of a child in a WhatsApp group. He was also in possession of an extreme pornographic image of a woman having intercourse with a dog, which the tribunal said was one example among 70 such images found in his possession.
The matter came to the attention of authorities after information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was passed to the National Crime Agency, prompting a police investigation. Bashir was arrested in August 2020 while working as a consultant solicitor at Allied Law Chambers Solicitors Ltd.
He was charged in March 2024 and pleaded guilty before magistrates in May 2024. The case was then committed to the Bolton Crown Court for sentencing.
On 25 July 2024, the Crown Court imposed a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years. Bashir was also made subject to a seven-year sexual harm prevention order, required to register with police for seven years, and ordered to complete rehabilitation activities and unpaid work, together with restrictions on his use of electronic devices.
In the disciplinary proceedings, the SRA relied on the certificate of conviction as proof of the offences, which Bashir admitted. The matter proceeded by way of an agreed outcome.
Approving the agreed outcome, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal said the misconduct could only be regarded as extremely serious and that no sanction short of strike-off would be sufficient to protect the public and the reputation of the profession.
Bashir was ordered to pay costs of £2,680.