Leeds has seen a child sexual abuse case return with a tougher outcome. On Friday 5 June 2026, the Court of Appeal increased Masoud Abdi’s sentence from six years to an 11-year extended sentence, made up of eight years in prison and a three-year licence extension, after Solicitor General Ellie Reeves KC MP referred the case under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme. For Leeds, it means the case did not end with the first sentence passed at Crown Court. (gov.uk)

Leeds Crown Court heard that Abdi first contacted the victim on social media, lied about his age and carried on after learning she was 14. He groomed her online and by phone, bought her gifts, encouraged her in March 2025 to share indecent images and sent indecent images of himself in return. Later that month, the court heard, he went to her home, sexually abused her and filmed it. Indecent images of other children were also found on his phone. (gov.uk)

On 10 September 2025, Abdi was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court after admitting one count of sexual activity with a child, three counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and one count of making indecent images of children. The court also imposed an indefinite restraining order. The later ruling did not reopen the case facts; it increased the punishment judges said should follow from them. (gov.uk)

For readers across West Yorkshire, the wider point is how that change happened. Under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme, members of the public can ask the Attorney General’s Office to examine certain Crown Court sentences within 28 days. If the Law Officers personally decide a case appears not just lenient but unduly so, they can ask the Court of Appeal to review it. That power is meant for sentences outside the range reasonably open to the judge, not simply ones people dislike. (gov.uk)

In April 2026, ministers said the Victims and Courts Bill would give victims and bereaved families up to six months to challenge an unduly lenient sentence where that is in the interests of justice, and would add a legal duty to notify them that the scheme exists. For other members of the public, the current 28-day limit still applies. In a regional case like this one, that detail matters because it shapes whether people know a sentence can be challenged at all. (gov.uk)

Reeves described Abdi as a "dangerous sexual predator" who targeted a child he knew was 14, and said the victim had shown "immense courage" in coming forward. The wider message from Leeds is plain enough: sentence referrals may sound technical, but in the right case they can change the final outcome in a very real way for victims and for public confidence in the courts. (gov.uk)