Neezam Ali, the Muslim scholar who was jailed for 45 years in 2019 for raping a nine-year-old boy, was today found not guilty on two counts of child rape.
The trial was underway before Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.
Ali, who was represented by lawyer, Dexter Todd, was arraigned before Justice Sewnarine-Beharry before whom he had pleaded not guilty to the charge for the offence of sexual activity with a child by abusing a position of trust contrary to Section 18 (3) (a) of the Sexual Offence Act.
It was alleged that between December 2 and 31, 2011, in the county of Demerara, he engaged in sexual activity with a six-year-old boy by penetrating his anus with his penis, while being a teacher—Imam—at the Muslim Association Masjid, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown.
The charge further alleged that Ali called “Mufty”, “Mufti” or “Muffie” knew or could reasonably be expected to have known of the position of trust he held in relation to the said boy.
Prosecutors, Attorneys-at-Law Simran Gajraj, Latifah Elliot, and Rbina Christmas have also presented an alternative count against Ali for the offence of rape of a child under 16 contrary to Section 10 (3) of the Sexual Offences Act.
That charge stated that he engaged in sexual penetration with the lad between the aforementioned dates.
The jury’s not guilty verdict was split, 11-1.
Meanwhile, on March 13, 2019, Ali was found unanimously guilty of sexual penetration of a nine-year-old boy by abusing a position of trust between December 5 and 31, 2011. In his defence, he had denied committing the crime, claiming that he suffers from erectile dysfunction.
In sentencing the convict, trial Judge Navindra Singh, had among other things, considered the fact that he took advantage of an underprivileged boy and that the sexual abuse occurred within the walls of a Masjid. Ali had appealed his conviction and sentence and had also applied for bail pending the hearing and determination of that appeal but he was denied bail by the Chief Justice.
In his notice of appeal, Ali has asked the Court of Appeal of Guyana to set aside his conviction and sentence, alluding to several misdirections given to the jurors by the Judge.
In one of his grounds of appeal, he claimed that Justice Singh failed to adequately put his defence to the jury and that the Judge misdirected the jury with regard to the medical evidence.
As it is, he is still to face trial for six more counts of child rape. Besides the boy he was convicted of raping, he is accused of sexually molesting the six-year-old boy and seven other boys.
