Moroccan Imam Faces 15-Year Sentence for Child Rape at Barcelona Mosque

This imam, named Abdeslam, is said to have taken advantage of the Quran learning classes he gave to this child to rape him by force, before threatening him with revenge if he were to reveal the affair. And it was not a single rape, but repeated sexual assaults over a period, specifically between May and July 2017.

From the beginning of May 2017 until July 13, 2017, the assaults were repeated "each time the minor went to the mosque," wrote Sonia Canal, as reported by the website 20minutos. The imam would have "taken advantage of the relationship of trust to achieve his goals, as well as the moral ascendancy he had over the minor because he was the imam of the mosque where he regularly went to pray and teach the Quran."

The Attorney General, Sonia Canal, has requested a severe sentence against him. According to the website 20minutos, in addition to the 15 years in prison requested, Canal "requests to partially replace the prison sentence pronounced by his expulsion from Spain for ten years." It should be noted that this imam officiated at the Hamza mosque in Barcelona.

Substantial compensation is also requested for the child, namely 60,000 euros in damages for the moral consequences as well as 200 euros for the injuries, still according to the same source. The child is still undergoing therapy.