‘Dickensian’ imam jailed for assaults on his pupils
AN imam who subjected his young pupils to over 100 physical assaults at a mosque in Rochdale has been jailed for 17 months.
Abdul Rauf, 51, was said to have displayed ‘Dickensian’ methods of teaching at a mosque on Crawford Street, where he bullied and tormented children.
Rauf, of Sussex Street, Rochdale, was sentenced at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court on Monday after earlier pleading guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and 20 offences of common assault.
The court heard that the father-of-five would slap, kick and push the boys he was teaching.
The scale of the imam’s offending was not revealed until one of the victims told a teacher at his school that he and another boy had been assaulted at his local mosque.
Over 40 hours of CCTV footage was reviewed by Greater Manchester Police officers and it revealed 109 assaults perpetrated by Rauf.
One of the victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claimed the imam had called him a ‘gay boy’ before taking off his sock and slapping him round the head with it. The boy said that on another occasion, the imam kicked and slapped him - causing him to fall against a pillar.
CCTV footage showed Rauf assaulting a number of pupils at the mosque - but only two ever pressed charges against him. The exact number of victims is not known, police said after the case.
Judge Michael Duck described the imam’s offending as ‘humiliating’ and ‘degrading’ as he sentenced Rauf to immediate custody.
He said: “These young men were expecting to be nurtured in the ways of Islam and the way in which you behaved is in no way acceptable to the ethics of your faith.
“You were given a high level of respect and trust by your community and those children came to that mosque to be taught by you. There is an element of you believing that you were untouchable within that environment.
“You subjected these children to petulance and violence, smacking or hitting a child if they did not comply with your will. That - if it ever belonged to an era - belonged to a very different one.”
Rauf’s defence lawyer, Ahmed Nadim, said his client had since been ostracised by the local community after the extent of his offending became clear.
He said: “The defendant displayed Dickensian attitudes towards teaching and feels a level of corporal punishment is appropriate.
“It is to do with his understanding of how appropriate teaching may be engaged in.
“It is not to do with the victims’ young age or vulnerability, but a failure on his part about what appropriate teaching methods may be employed.”
Rauf must serve half of his sentence before being considered for release.
Following the sentencing hearing, Inspector Phil Key from GMP’s Rochdale borough said: “Abdul Rauf is a nasty, bully of a man who beat the children in his classes until it became normalised. The children were left cowering and holding onto their ears, their arms and their legs after he repeatedly used violence as a punishment.
“The parents of the children had no idea that they were leaving their children in the care of a man who would leave them writhing in pain and covered in marks and bruises.
“Rauf left the children intimidated and afraid to tell their parents about his bullying tactics. I dread to think how many children’s lives he has affected over the years. We are doing all we can to support those children and their families that we know about.
“We are working with Rochdale Council, the Council of Mosques and other partners to ensure that this type of behaviour is never repeated and our children are safe with those that we put our children in the care of.
“I would like to com- mend the bravery of those who came forward and spoke to police. Rauf will never be able to hurt another child in his care, and that is all thanks to those who spoke out against him.”