Ex-imam denies sexual assaults on six young boys
AFORMER imam accused of sexually assaulting young boys has denied all the charges against him.
Noor Alam took to the witness box at Swansea Crown Court to give evidence in his defence on day four of his trial.
The 34-year-old is accused of abusing a total of six children, the offences said to range from hugging and touching through to performing sex acts.
The court heard Alam is a Burmese Rohingya and had come to the UK in 2010.
However, his application for asylum was refused. He began working in a restaurant and performing imam duties at a mosque in the Mile End area of London before moving to Swansea.
Speaking through an interpreter, Alam first answered questions from his defence barrister Stephen Thomas.
Asked if he had committed any of the alleged sexual acts, he replied: “No sir.” Asked if he had ever bought the boys gifts such as food, sweets, and clothes to try to get access to them, he again replied: “No.”
When asked about his sexual orientation, he said if he ever got married it would be to a woman. He denied being sexually interested in boys, saying “nothing can be worse than that” in Islam.
Under cross-examination by Carina Hughes for the prosecution, Alam agreed that the role of imam was a respected one in the community.
He also agreed that homosexuality was shameful in Islam and lying was forbidden.
The court also heard admissions – evidence agreed by both parties – about one of the alleged victims.
The jury was told abut his disruptive behaviour in primary school, his interest in pornography and parental concerns about his tendency to tell lies.
Judge Peter Heywood told the members of the jury that the fundamental question they had to address was whether the incidents had really happened or were a “pack of wicked lies”.
Alam, of no fixed abode, denies 14 counts of sexually assaulting a child under 13 and of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.
His trial resumes on Tuesday.