Mohammed Naeem Runaway Child Molester makes excuses

A DEWSBURY man who fled the country after he sexually assaulted two young girls at his flat has been jailed.

Mohammed Naeem, 32, who lived in the Flatts area, initially denied the offences against a 10-year-old and an 11-year-old in autumn, 2006.

But before his trial could begin in April, last year, Naeem fled to Canada.

When he was eventually tried in October, he pleaded guilty to the sexual assaults, which happened after he groomed the children by buying them sweets, gifts and letting them use his computer.

He was given 13-and-a-half months yesterday for each of the assaults and six months for breaching bail conditions, the sentences to run concurrently.

Judge Jenny Kershaw, QC, told him: "You set out to gain the trust of these children and their families.

"Having succeeded to the extent that they were allowed into your home without any adult company, you carried out the offences.

"A clearer possible attempt to evade justice can hardly be described. These two small girls and their families had to live for over a year in the shadow of a forthcoming trial."

Leeds Crown Court heard Naeem, originally from Pakistan, befriended the two families and sp
ent time with the girls alone at his flat, where he allegedly took photos of them using his mobile phone.

He asked both girls for "a kiss and a cuddle" and when one of the girls refused, he told her he wouldn't stay friends with her. He touched their breasts over their clothing on several occasions.

Judge Kershaw added: "It was perfectly clear from the account given by the 10-year-old that you persisted over a considerable period of time despite her protests.

"A little girl should not have been in a position of having to stand up for herself in that way."

Abraham Veghese, mitigating, said a stillborn child and a marriage breakdown had a severe impact on Naeem's life.

Naeem, who does not know where his wife is living, was an "educated" man who "deserved one last chance."