A religious teacher has been found guilty of sexually abusing two of his pupils in Dudley more than 30 years ago. Hifiz Rahman was convicted of assaulting the two girls while practising as an Imam at Queens Cross Mosque during the 1980s.
The 57-year-old was arrested and charged after one of the girls, now aged 40, bravely came forward to police in 2012. The victim, who was between seven and eight years old at the time, told officers that the Imam used to abuse her on an almost daily basis while she read from the Holy Book. But she had been too scared to tell anyone as a child and even started to self-harm, scratching her face in the hope that he would no longer abuse her.
Police investigating the crime established that Rahman was Imam at the mosque at the time. He was arrested in March 2014 but during interviews, he denied knowing or sexually assaulting the girl. The investigation then uncovered a second victim, who was traced before further charges were put to Rahman in January 2016.
Rahman was found guilty at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Friday, October 7, with sentencing to take place at a later date.
