Amar Ilyas, a 41-year-old man convicted of 20 sexual offences, fled to Pakistan in July 2025 while awaiting trial. Despite a 27-year sentence issued by Sheffield Crown Court, the perpetrator escaped because he was permitted to retain his passport while on bail.
The 27-year sentence Amar Ilyas avoided by fleeing to Pakistan
Amar Ilyas was convicted of 20 sexual offences, including 13 counts of rape against five girls , as the report says. The Sheffield Crown Court eventually sentenced him in absentia to a minimum of 27 years in prison.. However, the judicial decision to allow Ilyas to keep his passport while on bail provided the window he needed to leave the United Kingdom before his scheduled September trial.
The impact on the survivors has been devastating. One victim told the BBC that the situation is an insult to her dignity, noting the irony that while Amar Ilyas was free to travel, she remained too terrified to leave her own home. Another survivor argued that human rights provisions were applied to the perpetrator at the direct expense of the victims' safety.
Operation Stovewood and the £90 million fight against Rotherham grooming
The case of Amar Ilyas is not an isolated incident but part of a wider network of abuse. According to the source, Ilyas's brothers, Kamar and Kamran, were also convicted of sexual offences during the early 2020s. These arrests were the result of Operation Stovewood, a £90 million National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation into child grooming in Rotherham.
Operation Stovewood revealed a systemic pattern where abusers targeted vulnerable children, often using extreme intimidation. In the case of Amar Ilyas, sentencing remarks highlighted his use of terror tactics, including biting victims and threatening gang rapes, which makes the decision to grant him bail particularly contentious given his history of violence.
How 'alarmingly full' prisons influence bail decisions
The decision to grant bail to dangerous offenders is often linked to the state of the UK's penal system. The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has described British prisons as "alarmingly full," creating a pressure cooker environment where the judiciary may be more inclined to grant bail to manage capacity.
This systemic pressure has led to other dangerous lapses, such as the case of Zafer Dogan.. As the report says, Dogan was repeatedly granted bail despite committing surveillance and using AI-generated images to arouse victims.. Dogan was eventually jailed for two years and four months, but crritics point out that he was allowed to live in a flat overlooking a playground while on bail, placing children at direct risk.
Will the National Crime Agency secure Ilyas's extradition from Pakistan?
The National Crime Agency (NCA) has stated it is making "every effort" to bring Amar Ilyas back to the UK to face the consequences of his crimes . However, the reort leaves several critical questions unanswered regarding the specifics of international cooperation and the current location of the fugitive.
It remains unclear whether the Pakistani government has formally acknowledged the request for extradition or if there are specific diplomatic hurdles preventing his return. Furthermore, the source does not specify which exact "human rights" provisions were cited by the court to justify allowing a serial rapist to retain his travel documents while awaiting trial for 20 sexual offences.
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