Dudley Imam found guilty of indecent assault on two girls 'has fled to Bangladesh'

Police believe father-of-seven Hafiz Rahman, from Netherton, boarded a flight to Bangladesh on Saturday, after claiming to be too ill to attend Wolverhampton Crown Court on Friday where he was found guilty of five charges of indecent assault.

Rahman had been the Imam at Queens Cross mosque in Cradley Heath when the assaults took place in the 1980s.

Confirming that the religious leader had fled, a spokesman for West Midlands Police said: "Hifiz Rahman absconded from the UK on Saturday, October 8 when it is believed he boarded a flight to Bangladesh.

"We are making urgent inquiries to try and arrange his return.

"He claimed to be too ill to attend his court hearing on Thursday, October 6 and Friday, October 7 at Wolverhampton Crown Court, where he was convicted in his absence of sexually assaulting two girls.

"The court did not issue any warrant for Mr Rahman to be arrested or remanded following the guilty verdict and he was due to be summonsed for sentencing this week.

"Officers visited him at home that evening to ensure he was complying with the previously imposed bail conditions of residing at the specified address, which he was.

"An 'all ports warning' information report was placed onto the Police National Computer advising that officers should be notified if he made any attempt to try and leave the country."

Rahman, 58, of Ballard Road, was found guilty of five out of seven charges of indecent assault. He was cleared of the other two.

The court heard how he assaulted two girls at the mosque in a string of attacks between March 1986 and August 1987.

The victims, who were aged under 10 at the time, had gone to the mosque for religious studies.

They had described to the jury how they were touched sexually by Rahman.

One woman broke down as she explained how she found it hard to understand what was happening. She was only six-years-old when the attack happened.

She told police: "I felt morally obliged to do the right thing."

The jury reached unanimous verdicts at the end of the five-day trial on five of the charges.

Judge Nicholas Cartwright said Rahman should expect an immediate custodial sentence due to the nature of the charges, though the defendant was not in court to hear the verdicts after Mr Tariq Shakoor, defending, informed the judge that Rahman was ill.

Judge Cartwright added sentencing should take place on a date to be arranged once Rahman had made a full recovery.

Detective Constable Liz Skyte from West Midland Police's Public Protection Unit, said: "The abuse started with inappropriate touching but escalated to more serious assaults.

"The first complainant told us how the abuse happened almost daily but she never told anyone as due to his high standing in the community, she thought she would not be believed."

He ruled the father of seven and grandfather of 10 should also sign the Sex Offenders Register as soon as possible.

Mr Peter Arnold, prosecuting, said the CPS would also be taking steps to make Rahman the subject of a Sexual Harm Protection Order.

Rahman, who had a Bengali interpreter, did not give evidence himself during the trial, despite being advised by Mr Shakoor about any impression the jury might get from his choice not to speak.