‘Depraved’ West Yorkshire man who had sex with pet chickens has jail term cut

Footage of Rehan Baig having sex with the birds – which died as a result – was found on computer equipment seized from his home in Shepherd Street, Bradford, along with indecent images of children.

Baig, 37, was jailed for three years at Bradford Crown Court in October last year after admitting a string of offences including having intercourse with an animal, possessing extreme pornographic images and making indecent photographs of children.

His sentence was cut to two years and four months at the Court of Appeal in London on Friday after two senior judges concluded the original term was too long.

His lawyers argued that his jail term should be suspended so he could be freed immediately from prison.

But Sir Roderick Evans, who heard Baig’s appeal with another judge, said: “We are satisfied that a significant and immediate term of custody was necessary.”

The court heard Baig’s crimes were discovered when National Crime Agency officers executed a search warrant at the family home in July 2019, after receiving intelligence he had indecent images of children.

Computer equipment was seized from the house and 49 indecent images of children were found – including 11 in the most serious category, some of which featured children as young as six.

Officers also found a “significant” quantity of extreme pornographic images, including a number of “first-generation, homemade movies” featuring Baig, and occasionally his wife, engaging in sexual activity with animals and saved under the file name “Family Vids”.

Some of the images featured the couple engaging in sex acts with a dog, while others “of some duration in length” were of Baig performing intercourse with chickens and also, on occasion, with his wife, who filmed some of the footage on a mobile phone.

Sentencing the couple in October, Judge Richard Mansell QC said the acts “would make any right-thinking member of society sick to their stomach”.

The judge described Baig’s offending as “depraved, perverted and despicable” and said the creation of the videos was “simply beyond comprehension”.

The Crown Court heard that the images showed two of the chickens dead on the cellar floor and another video showed Baig placing one of the deceased animals in a bin bag. He was also filmed having intercourse with a chicken that had already died.

Judge Mansell said: “The pain and suffering you inflicted on these animals must have been horrific.”

Prosecutors said the chickens started as family pets and they all died as a consequence of Baig’s actions.

Baig admitted three counts of making indecent images of children, three counts of possession of extreme pornography, three counts of sexual intercourse with an animal and two counts of possession of controlled drugs.

He was banned from keeping animals and placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.

His wife, Haleema Baig, 38, was handed a six-month suspended sentence after she admitted aiding and abetting sexual intercourse with an animal, which she said was against a background of coercive and controlling behaviour by her husband.