Police case unwanted says father

A man whose son says he was groped while sleeping in a mosque says the alleged offender’s family did not want police involvement in the matter.

A Wellington man, who has name suppression, is on trial in the Palmerston North District Court charged with indecently assaulting four boys.

Two of the boys were allegedly assaulted in a Palmerston North mosque in 2013, while the other two complained about incidents in 2014 from their time in a Wellington mosque.

The father of one of the Palmerston North complainants gave evidence on Tuesday, talking about how he was asked to a meeting with the man’s family.

The court heard earlier in the trial the man touched the two boys while they all slept in a room at the mosque on Cook St, Palmerston North. Both complainants, who were at the mosque for a camp, said they were not sure if the man was awake at the time.

At the meeting, held in The Plaza shopping mall’s food court, the man did not discuss the alleged assaults, the father said.

The father stopped taking part in the conversation after 15 minutes, as it appeared the man’s family did not want to talk about it. ’’I came to the conclusion they didn’t want a police investigation, but I thought it was good to have a police investigation to investigate the case clearly.

‘‘[The man] denied doing anything wrong.’’

That meeting was facilitated by Hazim Arafeh, who was the president of Manawatu Muslim Association at the time.

He said he did not organise the camp, but helped out with parts of it. The man had been staying at the mosque for some time before the camp, but had been told he should think about moving, Arafeh said.

Arafeh first became aware of the alleged assaults when the boys talked to different adults about it.

He then talked to the boys, who told him there had been ‘‘inappropriate touching’’, before confronting the man.

‘‘He completely rejected any sense of wrongdoing,’’ Arafeh said.

‘‘He gave me the explanation that the boys were rolling on the ground while sleeping.

‘‘He also said some boys were grabbing the cover off him when they felt cold during the night.’’

The man said he had to change where he was sleeping in the room multiple times during the night due to how the children were behaving, Arafeh said.

‘‘I think he said he was trying to push them away from him, because they were moving around.’’

Arafeh asked the man to leave the mosque that day, which the man did 30 minutes after the conversation. ’’I just felt uncomfortable with the whole scenario,’’ Arafeh said.

The man’s family had asked to meet with the childrens’ families in the days following the incident, which Arafeh said was not an odd request.

Muslims were encouraged to discuss their issues with each other, he said.

Arafeh was also asked to explain to the jury certain aspects of Ramadan. The court has already heard the alleged Wellington assaults were said to have taken place near the end of the festival, while the man and two complainants stayed overnight at the mosque.

Arafeh said it was normal for people to stay at the mosque for the final 10 days of Ramadan, known as i’tikaaf.

While different groups of Muslims in some countries would judge the end of Ramadan in different ways, most New Zealand Muslims had the same system, he said. The trial continues.