A much loved community leader paedophile from Forest Gate, Qari Sher Mohammad, who exploited his position of trust to commit sexual offences against children in Chatham has been sentenced to imprisonment.
Qari Sher Mohammad assaulted four children over nearly a decade until his courageous victims alerted authorities.
Concerns regarding his conduct were initially expressed in 2018, when one of the children disclosed that he had sexually assaulted her while performing responsibilities associated with his position as an imam. This occurred in a mosque on Thorold Road, between March 2014 and October 2016.
He was apprehended and interrogated in April of that year; nevertheless, the investigation did not advance to a charge at that juncture due to apprehensions regarding the possible repercussions a trial might have on the young victim.
From May 2022 to December 2023, Qari Sher Mohammad sexually abused three further children and was apprehended on December 11.
Investigating police revisited the victim who had previously filed an allegation in 2018 as part of their enquiries. As an adult, she expressed her desire to advocate for a police prosecution about the offences perpetrated against her.
Qari Sher Mohammad, residing on Woodford Road, Forest Gate, London, was indicted on several charges of sexual contact with a minor. He denied the charges and, on 7 March 2025, was found guilty at Canterbury Court on 16 counts.
On Friday, September 12, 2025, Mohammad, aged 61, received a sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment. Upon his release, he will be subjected to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for a duration of five years.
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