A "cunning" and "manipulative" former imam in east London has been given a life sentence with a minimum prison term of 20 years for a series of sexual attacks on women and girls as young as 12.

Abdul Halim Khan, 54, was described as having abused the trust and authority that came with his position to carry out attacks against seven victims from the local Muslim community between 2005 and 2014.

In February, Khan was found guilty of 21 counts of rape, sexual assault and child sexual offences against victims at what were described as isolated places, including flats and hidden locations.

Sentencing him, Judge Leslie Cuthbert described Khan's "deliberate distortion of the Muslim faith".

"You had a position of significant power and authority, a position you systematically abused for your own base sexual gratification," the judge told the former imam at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

Cuthbert talked of Khan specifically targeting women and girls from the Bangladeshi Muslim community because of his standing and the shame the victims might feel in speaking out about sexual abuse.

"You behaved as if you were untouchable. You were confident that if they did come forward it would be you and not they who would be believed," Cuthbert told Khan.

The court heard statements from some of the victims who all spoke of the severely detrimental impact the attacks had caused, with one talking about having tried to take her own life.

One of Khan's victims, who said she was a child when she was abused, tearfully told the court: "To me, Khan is not a human being, he is evil personified."

She said fear was instilled in her through Khan's "lies and manipulation", saying that he hid "under the guise of a religious man".

Lead prosecution barrister Sarah Morris KC described the way in which Khan convinced his victims he needed to cleanse them of the evil spirits he said were in them.

She talked of the "lifelong harm" done to the victims by Khan who she said had "weaponised their faith".

In sexually assaulting his victims, Khan claimed to some that he had been possessed. He then also threatened that death or harm would come to the victims or their families via "black magic" if they spoke out.

He also told one young victim that she had ovarian cancer that only he could cure, before taking her in his car to a secluded area and raping her.

Victims talked of "lies and manipulation" from someone thought of in the community as a "religious, pious and trustworthy man".

He was found guilty in February of nine counts of rape, four counts of sexual assault, two counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, five counts of rape of a child under 13 and one count of assault by penetration.

Despite his convictions, the court received letters of support for Khan from his family and some members of the community ahead of sentencing.

Det Ch Insp Jennie Ronan, whose team led the investigation, said: "Abdul Khan presented himself as a respectable man who could be trusted.

"However, this was far from the truth, and he instead preyed upon and took advantage of others.

"Today, I want to focus on the victim-survivors, who have shown remarkable bravery in reporting Khan and great strength throughout the trial."

Melissa Garner, specialist prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: "Abdul Halim Khan used their deeply held beliefs to instil fear and silence in them, making them believe their families would be at risk if they ever spoke out."

An NSPCC spokesperson said: "It is deeply disturbing that Khan abused his position as a trusted faith leader to commit sexual offences against girls and women using fear and manipulation to control and silence those he targeted."

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Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdrpk4end65o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss