A former supply teacher has been jailed for six years after taking more than 100 upskirt photographs of schoolgirls, including in his classroom, across Greater Manchester.

Abusali Rahman, 37, from Salford, also used artificial intelligence (AI) to create sexualised fake images from pupils' social media photographs which he shared online.

He pleaded guilty to 21 offences, including taking indecent photographs of children and publishing obscene material.

The court heard 15 girls, aged 13 to 16, were targeted at seven secondary schools in Bolton, Bury and Salford. Police said 12 had been identified.

Rahman, who qualified as a teacher in July 2023 after studying at Manchester Metropolitan University, worked as a supply teacher at 25 schools across north-west England.

The court heard he used an iPhone concealed in his top pocket to secretly photograph pupils during lessons.

He also followed girls walking upstairs to take upskirt photographs at the schools where he worked.

He was caught when the mother of one girl was scrolling on X and came across an image of her daughter in her school uniform next to graphic sexual images.

The court heard one girl whose social media photograph had been used was left embarrassed and "weirded out", while another felt "disgusted and upset".

Jailing Rahman at Bolton Crown Court, Judge Kenderik Horne said his position as a teacher had given him access to pupils and classrooms.

"You abused that trust," the judge told him.

Rahman was also placed on the sex offenders register and given a 20-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order banning him from working in schools.

Rahman used pupils' personal information to find their social media profiles before using artificial intelligence (AI) to create sexualised images of them.

Some of the images were posted on X, where one of his accounts had about 1,000 followers.

The parents or guardians of identified victims and the affected schools have been informed.

As some of the girls were undergoing GCSE exams, detectives left it to individual parents to decide whether to tell their children they had been victims of Rahman's activities.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said investigators also found electronic files containing female pupils' names and addresses, which Rahman had used to locate photographs of them online.

He also researched how to take photographs without being caught and where to buy spy cameras.

Rahman was arrested in June 2025 after parents raised concerns about images of pupils circulating on social media.

He was arrested again in December 2025 after police gathered further evidence.

Prosecutor Tom Farr told the court that officers had discovered child sexual abuse material, including 226 category C images, some of which were upskirt photographs taken in classrooms and school corridors.

The CPS said Rahman made no comment during his police interview.

Emma Kehoe, defending, said it was not the prosecution's case that Rahman had become a teacher specifically to target schoolgirls.

"He found himself out of control and unable to stop," she told the court.

Rahman pleaded guilty at Bolton Crown Court in May to 12 counts of taking indecent photographs of children, four of publishing obscene material, three of making indecent images, one of distributing an indecent image and one upskirting offence.

Detective Constable Lisa McGaffin, who investigated the case for Greater Manchester Police, said criminals were exploiting rapid developments in AI technology.

She said the emergence of unregulated platforms made such offending increasingly difficult for police to tackle.

Senior crown prosecutor Alexandra Mann described Rahman's offending as a "gross breach of trust".

She said: "Abusali Rahman abused his position as a teacher to capture images of children without their knowledge in a school environment where they were entitled to feel safe."

An NSPCC spokesperson said Rahman's offending had been deeply distressing for the children and families affected.

The charity said young people contacting its Childline service about indecent images often reported feeling afraid, ashamed and unsure where to turn.

It called for stronger action from technology companies, the government and Ofcom to prevent sexualised deepfake images of children being created and shared.

The BBC has approached the government and Ofcom for comment.