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A prominent former religious teacher of Bangladeshi origin has been sentenced to twelve years in prison after a court determined he systematically abused his position of authority to prey on young girls. Hafez Ashraf Uddin, aged 71, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court this week to face the consequences of a campaign of abuse that spanned nearly a decade and a half, shattering the trust placed in him by families within the community, Daily Dazzling Dawn realized. The revelation of his abuse has cast a shadow of deep shame upon the British Bangladeshi community in the UK.
The court heard disturbing details of how Uddin, formerly of Wivenhoe Road in Barking, targeted six separate victims between 1985 and 1999. The girls, aged between seven and fourteen at the time of the offences, were subjected to indecent assaults while under his supervision. As a Hafez and religious teacher, Uddin held a status of significant respect and piety within the local Muslim community, a position prosecutors argued he cynically exploited to silence his victims and mask his predatory behaviour for years.
Uddin stood trial at Ipswich Crown Court earlier this year, facing a total of 22 counts of indecent assault involving seven complainants. Following a comprehensive four-week trial that concluded in June, a jury found him guilty on 13 counts relating to six of the girls. While he was acquitted of nine other charges, the conviction on thirteen counts revealed a dark pattern of offending. The charges included serious indecent assaults, with evidence presented that he had placed his hands inside victims' clothing and subjected them to inappropriate touching. Four of the convictions were for multiple offending counts, meaning the actual number of individual assaults committed by Uddin numbered at least twenty-nine.
The sentencing hearing on Friday delivered a severe rebuke to the pensioner. In addition to the twelve-year custodial term, the judge ordered that Uddin remain on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life. To ensure public safety upon his eventual release, he was also made the subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order. The sentence reflects the gravity of the breach of trust, as families had sent their daughters to him for religious instruction, never suspecting that the man they revered was capable of such depravity.
Detective Inspector Donna Hopper of the South Safeguarding Investigation Unit praised the resilience of the women who came forward to testify against the respected community figure. She noted that Uddin had abused his standing to subject young girls to shocking assaults, often on multiple occasions. She highlighted that the passage of time had not diminished the impact on the victims, many of whom felt unable to speak out at the time due to his elevated status and the cultural stigma associated with such allegations.
Police officials emphasized that this case serves as a stark reminder that justice has no expiration date. Uddin likely believed he had escaped accountability for crimes committed decades ago, banking on the silence of his victims and his age to shield him. However, the determination of the survivors to ensure he answered for his actions has resulted in him spending his twilight years behind bars. The conviction sends a strong message to the community that no individual, regardless of their religious title or cultural standing, is above the law.
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