A DISGRACED former imam at Rugby Mosque was banished to India after raping a young boy while giving him religious instruction – only to secretly return to this country.
But when his young victim some years later revealed what had happened, Noor Walile was traced to his home in Leicester.
And when a charge of rape was put to him at Warwick Crown Court, the former imam answered tearfully: “I am guilty. So sorry, I am guilty.”
Walile, 38, of Dronfield Street, Leicester, was jailed for six years and ordered to register as a sex offender for life.
But, branded ‘an offender of particular concern’ by the judge, he will only be released before serving the whole of the six years if the Parole Board considers it safe to do so – and will then be on licence for an additional 12 months.
Prosecutor Jane Sarginson said that in around 2010 Walile was working as the imam at the mosque in Grosvenor Road, Rugby, and among his duties was giving religious education to children.
The court heard how Walile raped a young boy in the mosque’s toilets.
When Walile later visited the boy’s home, the boy ran away when he saw Walile – and later told his parents he did not want to go to the mosque anymore.
His parents contacted an elder at the mosque who advised them to save the clothes the boy had been wearing and not to wash them. The mosque elder and the parents then confronted Walile.
Miss Sarginson said: “Initially Walile denied the allegations, but then said he had done something ‘very bad’ and that he could not remember what had happened, but that the devil had come over him.
“He was told he would have to go back to India and never return, or the matter would be reported to the police – and that is what the family understood had happened.”
But earlier this year the assault was reported to the police.
Officers then traced Walile who initially denied raping the boy or confessing it to the mosque elder.
But once he was told the family had kept the clothing, he confessed: “I have told lies during this interview. I am sorry, I did a bad thing. The devil came over me, and I did this bad act.”
Anthony Bell, defending, said: “He has worked in a responsible position for many years, without any behaviour such as this in the past.
“When the incident happened he took the advice, albeit fairly firmly expressed, to leave the country and go to India; but he returned to this country to be with his family and his wife, who is a British citizen.
“He has lived quietly in a different city, so that there would be no risk of contact with the boy or his family.
“His shame is apparent. He offers no explanation and no justification for what he’s done. He is ashamed of himself and acutely aware of the shame he has brought on his family.”
Jailing Walile, Judge Stephen Eyre QC told him: “The members of your community entrusted their young children to you for guidance and education.
“You were in a position of responsibility and leadership at the mosque. You abused that position and that trust, and defiled the faith you were paid to uphold.
“He was a young boy entrusted to your care for guidance, and you raped him. It is hard to think of any greater abuse of the trust that had been placed in you.
“If you had not pleaded guilty, the sentence would have been one of nine years.”
The judge pointed out that, in addition to a sexual harm prevention order restricting Walile’s contact with any child under 16, he will be barred from working with children for life.
