Judge Gives Islamic Leader Deadline to Accept Plea Deal in Sex Abuse Case

By George Houde
Courier-News
August 24, 2016

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/elgin-courier-news/ct-elgin-imam-sex-abuse-hearing-met-20160823-story.html

Imam Mohammed Abdullah Saleem is wheeled into court in Rolling Meadows on Aug. 22, 2016. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

The founder of a suburban Islamic school who is accused of sexually abusing a former student and a former employee has been given until Sept. 2 to decide if he will accept a plea deal.

Cook County Associate Judge James Karahalios issued the deadline Tuesday after the imam, Mohammed Abdullah Saleem, declined to accept the terms of a plea deal offered by prosecutors. Karahalios said he intends to take Saleem to trial on Sept. 12 if the imam does not agree to the plea arrangement by the Sept. 2 deadline.

Saleem, 77, a conservative scholar and former principal of the Institute of Islamic Education in Elgin, is accused of groping a woman who worked for him at the boarding school and of molesting an underage female student. In both cases, authorities allege that the imam forced the woman and the girl to sit on his lap while touching them in a sexual manner, and that both were victimized multiple times.

The terms of the proposed plea bargain have not been made public. The sentencing guidelines for those convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse include the possibility of probation. Someone convicted of the crime could also be required to register as a sex offender.

"The defense has advised me (that Saleem) is still considering the offer, though he has decided not to accept it at this time," the judge announced at a hearing Tuesday afternoon.

It was the second day in a row that Saleem appeared in court on the charges and that his lawyers met privately with a judge and with Saleem's attorney, suggesting the parties were close to resolving the case with a deal that would allow the imam to avoid a trial.

A member of the public who sat through Tuesday's hearing, Afsar Ali, said he attended to show allegiance with the alleged victims and to "let them know there are plenty of people in the community who support them."

For the sake of the alleged victims, "I would like to have seen some deal before the trial," Ali said. He credited them with having "a lot of guts to stand up and say this should not be tolerated."

George Houde is a freelance reporter.