A once "trusted and revered" religious leader is facing a lengthy spell behind bars after being found guilty of molesting four children he taught at a mosque.

Qari Sher Mohammad - who was Imam at the Muslim Community Centre in Chatham - had denied multiple abuse charges, telling a court he would not have behaved inappropriately with the students out of "fear of god".

He also branded one of his accusers a "very rude troublemaker" and claimed any touching had simply involved hands or heads, occurred in front of parents and was a mark of "respect and kindness".

But having refuted any suggestion that he had molested the children for his own sexual gratification, the jury decided otherwise and on Friday (March 7) Mohammad was convicted of 16 offences of sexual assault of a child relating to four youngsters over a nine-year period.

Canterbury Crown Court heard the 61-year-old had singled out his victims for "extra attention" by hugging them, touching under or over their clothing, and kissing them on the lips.

One had their chest massaged as he told them it would help their physical development, while others were pulled onto his lap in an area he knew to be out of sight of security cameras.

Another said he would hug "too tight" and put his hand "all the way up" their clothing.

Mohammad, of Forest Gate, east London, was first interviewed by police in 2018 and then again in 2023.

He denied all the accusations, describing himself as "a fatherly figure" to the children.

But the court heard the trust which many had in him in his role of teaching the Muslim faith and Arabic lessons at the centre in Thorold Road was seriously breached when he took the opportunity to sexually assault his four victims.

‘They said the defendant was friendly and gave too many hugs and kisses...’

At the start of his trial, prosecutor Tanya Robinson said despite their ordeals - which left one child in fear of "going to hell" - the victims had remained respectful of the Imam when they gave their "honest and straightforward" accounts to police.

"They continued to see him as good," she explained. "They made what we as adults would appreciate as sexual allegations but they, understandably given their ages, seemed not to have understood the true nature of what they were describing.

"Such descriptions are just what you would expect of a young child doing no more than describing confusing events that happened to them when they didn't really know what was happening or indeed how to react to it.

"You may think that tells you a great deal about where the truth lies in this case."

Referring to Mohammad's status in the community at the time, Ms Robinson said it was "perhaps no surprise" that the children had not spoken out sooner or even realised that his touching was wrong.

Each child was spoken to separately by police and a social worker before giving interviews that were video recorded and to be played during the trial.

“One said they felt uncomfortable but didn’t realise at first it was wrong and that the Imam would stop what he was doing when another child came in,” Ms Robinson added.

“The child was asked about the Imam’s character. They said the defendant was friendly, gave too many hugs and kisses, and spoke of being called one by one into the kitchen and given kisses because, they said, the kitchen has no camera.

“They said they didn’t tell their parents because they didn’t know it was wrong and didn’t feel the need to tell their parents because they (the child) trusted him (the defendant).”

Ms Robinson also told the court that given such an "influential and important" position, the victims had "no real reason to lie about him and every reason not to lie".

But Ms Robinson added that it was holding such a revered status that enabled Mohammad to "get away with it for so long."

Police were alerted to the allegations in 2018 and Mohammad was interviewed but the investigation did not progress to a charge at that stage.

Then five years later police were alerted again when further abuse came to light.

The court heard the children's concerned parents had first informed the mosque, seeking their help and asking about CCTV cameras.

But they then reported the matters officially when they felt as if they were "expected to wait for the Muslim community to make a decision about what should happen", said Ms Robinson.

Mohammad denied 17 offences dating back to 2014 and was found guilty of all but one which the jury had been discharged from considering during his trial.

He is expected to be sentenced at the same court on May 23.