A Leicester imam who raped a teenager has been slammed by a judge as being a fraud, a charlatan and a disgrace to his religion.
Komar Uddin, 68, was convicted by a jury at Leicester Crown Court of two rapes and three sexual assaults upon a vulnerable 19-year-old in her home. He was jailed for 15 years.
The married father-of-11 from Bangladesh admitted being in Britain illegally, but had denied the sexual allegations.
The sex attack happened on February 25, 2015, when Uddin was invited to exorcise evil spirits from the troubled and mentally fragile victim.
A ceremony took place in her bedroom, lit only by candles. The victim was abused as her father and relatives were downstairs at the family home in Leicester.
Following his arrest three years ago, Uddin fled the country whilst on bail before being extradited from Germany last year to face trial.
Richard Thatcher, prosecuting, said Uddin was likely to be deported at the end of his sentence.
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Judge Timothy Spencer QC said: “She was 19 years old and, as you rightly said (when he gave evidence), young enough to be your granddaughter. She was very vulnerable in February 2015. She was grieving for (a family member) who had died. She, like the rest of her family, had a deep belief in the spirit world and in djinns (spirits).
“You encouraged the belief that you were skilled in ridding believers of bad spirits; evil djinns. I’ve no way of knowing whether that was a genuine skill or just a pretence you put forward.
“This family placed their trust in you, particularly the father, and you betrayed his trust appallingly. You were invited to their house and it was supposed to be for you to help that young woman with her distress, to rid her of the evil spirits.”
The judge said the two were alone in in semi-darkness, with candles and incense in her bedroom.
He added: “You used your power over her to violate her for your own sexual gratification and did nothing to assist her distress – you greatly added to her distress.”
The judge told Uddin: “You showed no restraint whatsoever. You had her completely at your mercy and you raped her.”
He said the defendant’s DNA was found on her internal examination swabs, proving sexual intercourse had taken place.
Judge Spencer said: “It’s a shameful betrayal of your religion and the position you held within the Islamic community. You made her believe if she told anyone it wouldn’t dispel the spirits and they would return – you used that to ensure her silence.”
Uddin’s barrister, James McLernon, said in mitigation after the verdicts: “He has no previous convictions. It wasn’t a case of him selecting the victim. The family brought him in to treat her. He found himself in that position and took advantage of it and abused his position.”
