Sex predator raped and abused boys as young as 9 while saying ‘it’s okay you can do it’ | UK | News

A former staff member of a Birmingham mosque has been jailed for 16 years for carrying out a sickening campaign of rape and sexual abuse against nine-year-old boys.

Police said Said Daauud had “no remorse” and took the case to court; This meant that his five victims had to be cross-examined, the oldest of whom was only 14 years old. The malicious worker groomed the boys to gain their trust, buying them sweets, AirPods, computer games and cell phones. More than 4,000 messages were shared on WhatsApp and Snapchat in which he attempted to normalize his behavior and encouraged children to tell him they loved him.

In one sickening message, he said “It’s okay, you can do this” as he carried out the horrific abuse and asked a boy to send indecent photos of himself.

He took advantage of his position in the community to stay at the family home where police say he touched a child inappropriately.

When one of the children revealed what had happened to his family, alarm was raised and police opened an investigation in May 2022.

One victim told West Midlands Police: “Even though I knew it was really wrong, I still tried to see the positives in Said. But as the months went by I came to a better understanding of how Said manipulated me and took advantage of me and my body. I feel so betrayed by him I can’t even begin to describe it.”

Daauud, of Rudgewick Croft in Aston, gave ‘no comment’ in the interview, but specially trained officers took statements from the young boys and captured his inappropriate physical contact with them by viewing CCTV at the mosque.

Another child, who will remain anonymous for life, said: “Said betrayed my trust. He was a friend, like an older brother. I have a hard time trusting adults now because he was someone I trusted as a real friend. This whole situation has overwhelmed me and I just want things to go back to normal.”

One of the boy’s parents said: “Said took advantage of the fact that the children were in the Masjid, a place where they should feel safe and secure.”

West Midlands Police charged him with rape, nine counts of sexual assault and four other charges of causing or encouraging a child to engage in sexual activity, and he was found guilty of all charges following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

Daauud was an IT support worker at the mosque, which cannot be named for legal reasons, but stopped working there in February 2022. He continued to attend the mosque and was well known to the community.

On February 6, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison, after which he was ordered to remain on license for a further five years. He was also ordered to comply with a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely and an indefinite restraining order was made against each child he assaulted.

DS Thomas Finney, of the West Midlands public protection unit’s child abuse team, said: “Daauud showed no remorse throughout this process and took the case to court, which meant these children had to go through the ordeal of giving evidence and being cross-examined. We made sure they were supported throughout the process.”

“She used her position in the community to build real trust with families who were happy to let her stay the night and look after their children.

“He abused that trust in the most appalling way with a series of appalling sexual assaults on really young members of the community.

“It was only when one of the children told his family what had happened that the alarm was raised and the full extent of what was going on came to light.

“We worked closely with the management of the mosque, who supported the police investigation. They provided us with CCTV footage, statements and details of the children involved to help us reach this conclusion.

“I want to thank each of the children and their families for their bravery and support in helping us put this dangerous sexual predator behind bars. Our thoughts are with them today.”