A man who used a game of “ants in pants” to try to cover up his sexual abuse of a young boy has been jailed for more than five years.
Bradford Crown Court heard on Tuesday that 37-year-old Wakefield man Khuram Rashid was still “in denial” about his offending against the youngster despite a jury finding him guilty of three offences of sexual assault following a trial.
The mother of the victim, who must not be identified for legal reasons, provided an impact statement in which she described how they had been pressured by others to forgive the defendant and consider his feelings while their feelings had been overlooked and condemned.
The court heard that Rashid, of Ings Road, had been a man of previous good character and was highly regarded by his employers.
Barrister Kitty Colley, for Rashid, said he held a “managerial position” and Recorder David Gordon noted that the jury had heard a number of testimonials about the defendant relating to his work at Leeds Railway Station.
Recorder Gordon said there had clearly been “grooming behaviour” in Rashid’s offending. He told Rashid: “You dressed up sexual touching as innocent playfulness.”
Bradford Crown Court
(Image: Yorkshire Live)
The court heard that when Rashid was questioned about the sexual touching allegations by the boy’s mother he laughed and said the youngster was confused. Recorder Gordon said Rashid told the mum that they had played a game called “ants in pants” and that had led to some confusion.
The judge said Rashid also talked about “tickling” each other. He said: “All in all you denied the allegations being made by the complainant and his mother. Those were denials you have persisted in right up to today.
“You were convicted after a trial so I can give you no credit for pleading guilty.”
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Jailing Rashid for five years and three months Recorder Gordon said his offending had had a profound impact on the boy and his family.
He said Rashid had also told the youngster that what he was doing to him was “perfectly fine”.
Recorder Gordon said Rashid would now have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and he would also have to comply with the terms of a indefinite sexual harm prevention order which restricts his unsupervised contact with boys under 16.
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