Muslim cleric from Sheffield jailed for raping young boy

Mohammed Hanif Khan, 43, was told he must spend at least eight years in jail after being found guilty by a jury of sexual activity with a child, as well as the two counts of rape.

The charges relate to two boys who attended the mosque in Capper Street, Stoke-on-Trent, where he was imam, in 2009.

Khan, who appeared in court wearing a black suit, blue shirt and yellow tie, was sentenced by Mrs Justice Dobbs following a three-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court.

Mrs Justice Dobbs told Khan, who sat with his hands in his lap and his eyes cast s downwards as she outlined her reasons for imposing the sentence, that he had blatantly abused the trust bestowed on him by the community as imam of the mosque.

In front of a public gallery packed on one side with Khan’s supporters and on the other with the victims’ family members, she said: “A more serious breach of trust can’t be imagined.

“You were the imam and not only were you the boys’ teacher you were the boys’ guide.

“You were taken into the hearts of the community and treated like a god.

“One of the boys described you as being so big you were like the queen.”

For the two rape charges, she sentenced Khan to a determinate period of 16 years in prison, to serve a minimum of eight years before he could even apply to be freed, and to 12 months to run concurrently for the charge of sexual activity with a child.

She also told him he would be on the sex offenders’ register for life and was subject to a sex offenders’ protection order.

Mrs Justice Dobbs also referred to Khan’s employment prior to his post as imam at the Capper Street mosque, which was as the UK’s first full-time Islamic minister at Dovegate Prison, near Uttoexeter.

She said he had resigned from this post after allegations emerged that he sexually harassed three female members of staff.

This was not raised in front of the jury during the trial but was “significant” at sentencing, she said, because it served to show Khan was a serious risk to the public.

During the trial, prosecutor Tariq Bin Shakoor told the jury part of Khan’s job was to lead prayers and give Islamic education lessons to boys at evening classes.

He told the court one of the boys, who cannot be named, claimed in police interviews he was singled out by Khan after evening prayer on several occasions.

He was sexually assaulted in various areas of the mosque which were not covered by CCTV, Mr Shakoor said.

The other boy was assaulted when he was an overnight guest at Khan’s house, the jury of six men and six women were told.

But in his evidence to the court Khan, of Owler Lane, Sheffield, said he had a close relationship with the youngsters because he tried to help them with their unruly behaviour.

He said he would often be more lenient on the boys if they were late or did not turn up for classes at the mosque because he was aware they had issues at home.

Robert Woodcock QC, defending Khan, asked him who had invited him to get involved in the family’s business and he said it was mainly the mothers of the two boys who asked for his help.

But giving evidence to the court, one of the victims said he attended the mosque for evening classes every weekday, arriving at around 6pm and leaving about an hour later.

Under questioning from Robert Woodcock QC, he admitted the imam was popular among most of the boys at the mosque.

Giving evidence from behind a screen, the boy said he had stopped going to mosque before Khan started as the imam, but started going again because “he was teaching something else” and was interesting.

The court heard the boy told police the last alleged assault, said to be on October 16, 2009, happened in a private room.

But Mr Woodcock said to him: “You keep saying, ‘I think, I think, I think’.

“What happened to you must have been exceedingly unpleasant, wasn’t it? Every detail of it surely would be easy to remember, wouldn’t it? So where did it happen the last time it happened?” “I think it was in the classroom,” the boy replied.

When asked by the defence barrister: “Did it happen at all?”, he replied: “It did happen.”

The court heard Khan was arrested on October 19, 2009.

When one of the victims was approached by his family about the defendant he said: “He tried to take my trousers down.” Mr Shakoor said the other victim spent the night at Khan’s home in July 2009 to help him pack prior to a house move.

As he was washing dishes the defendant began to touch him in a sexual way, the prosecutor said.

Later that night, after Khan had shown him the room where he would be sleeping, the boy found him lying on the bed and said Khan asked him for a massage.

Khan then tried to rape him, the prosecutor said.

In mitigation, Mr Woodcock said Khan’s offending may not have been motivated solely by sexual gratification.

He told Mrs Justice Dobbs: “There was, you may conclude, something about the whole appearance of the defendant that was consistent more with an arrogance and a swagger, therefore his offending may have been something to do with a power complex over those boys.”

He said Khan was a man of “considerable intelligence” and “highly articulate” who was trying to embrace more modern ways at the mosque, and said it would be wrong to think he had taken the imam post to get close to young boys.

But Mrs Justice Dobbs said she had looked over at Khan on numerous occasions during the trial and saw him “smugly smile” towards the public gallery, “giving the impression that you were untouchable”.

She added: “You have breached the trust not only of these two boys, but of other boys in the mosque, the family of the boys; you’ve threatened the trust of other imams in the mosque and no doubt elsewhere.

“Your actions have had a significant effect on the community.

“The boys have been reviled by the community for bringing shame on the community and the boys are being teased.”

She also said she thought Khan believed he was “omnipotent” and, by carrying out the abuse in the mosque, showed he had a “reckless streak”.

Five other charges against Khan, including attempted rape and sexual activity with a child, were ordered by the court to lie on file.

Detective Inspector Tim Martin, of Staffordshire Police, who led the investigation, said the force welcomed the sentencing.

He said: “Throughout the investigation, and subsequent trial, Khan protested his innocence. But the jury did not believe his account of events and recognised he abused his position of trust.

“Such activity will not be tolerated by Staffordshire Police and we will always thoroughly investigate allegations of sexual assault.

“This case did give cause for some understandable concern in the community. I hope that today’s sentencing will go some way to bringing this matter to a close and will help all those affected to move forward with their lives.”