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Abused woman 'failed' as imam Hifiz Rahman flees Abused woman 'failed' as imam Hifiz Rahman flees
(35 minutes later)
A woman says she has been failed by the justice system after an imam who abused her when she was a child fled the UK for Bangladesh after being convicted. A woman who was abused as a child by an imam said she has been "failed by the justice system" after he was able to flee the country before being jailed.
Hifiz Rahman, 58, absconded on 8 October after being convicted of sexually assaulting two girls at Queens Cross mosque in the West Midlands. Hifiz Rahman, 58, absconded after being convicted of sexually assaulting two girls at Queens Cross mosque in the West Midlands.
One of the victims said "someone has to be blamed". One said she was "angry and frustrated" he was able to leave the UK.
West Midlands Police said it was "making urgent enquiries to try and arrange his return".West Midlands Police said it was "making urgent enquiries to try and arrange his return".
More updates from Birmingham and the Black CountryMore updates from Birmingham and the Black Country
The victim was seven when the abuse began at the Cradley Heath mosque in the 1980s. The victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was seven when the abuse began at the Cradley Heath mosque in the 1980s.
Asked if she felt like she had been failed, she said: "Yes I do. I'm so angry, so angry, frustrated. I've gone through so much to get to this point. She said she felt she had been failed.
"It was a victory for me when he was found guilty. I was like, 'Yes this is it. He will go down for what he has done', and then he disappears."It was a victory for me when he was found guilty. I was like, 'Yes this is it. He will go down for what he has done', and then he disappears.
"I'm so angry, so angry, frustrated. I've gone through so much to get to this point.
"Someone has to be blamed. Somebody needs to come forward and take responsibility for what they've done.""Someone has to be blamed. Somebody needs to come forward and take responsibility for what they've done."
Rahman, from Ballard Road, Netherton, did not attend the end of his trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court after claiming he was too ill and did not hear the jury's verdicts. The woman was targeted by Rahman from an early stage, and he would single her out for abuse.
Rahman started by shaking her hand and tickling the inside of her palm, and eventually moved on to touching her elsewhere.
On one occasion, she said she threatened to tell her father about the abuse.
But Rahman responded by ringing the father and inviting himself round to the family's home for dinner.
"Everybody respected him," she said.
"They thought he was god... that's how we are taught: that he is the imam and you do as you are told."
Rahman, from Ballard Road, Netherton, did not attend the end of his trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court after claiming he was too ill.
West Midlands Police said they believed he boarded a flight to Bangladesh.West Midlands Police said they believed he boarded a flight to Bangladesh.
No warrant or remand was issued after his guilty verdict, it said.No warrant or remand was issued after his guilty verdict, it said.
The force said: "Officers visited him at home... 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.""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."
The BBC has contacted Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service.The BBC has contacted Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service.