- Wednesday, May 08, 2024
By: Chandrashekar Bhat
A RELIGIOUS teacher in South London has been jailed for 10 years for sexually abusing two boys and inflicting “severe psychological harm” on them.
Croydon Crown Court found Muhammad Asgar, 68, guilty of attempting to rape one of the boys and sexually abusing the other. The offences took place over three years.
Asgar, from Thornton Heath, taught the Qu’ran at Croydon Mosque & Islamic Centre and would forcibly kiss his first victim and rub his genitals against him, the court heard.
He also attempted to rape the boy by stripping and bending him over a sofa, the court heard. His actions traumatised the boy and disrupted his education, jurors were told.
Asgar was accused of sexually abusing another child – aged under 13 – before his offences were reported to the police.
Asgar pleaded not guilty to the offences and his lawyer claimed the teacher’s “previous good character and reputation had been destroyed” because of the accusations.
While sentencing Asgar last Friday (3), the court also subjected him to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.
