ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune
George Houde and Stacey Wescott
Chicago Tribune
The founder of an Islamic school in Elgin who is awaiting trial on sexual abuse charges now faces new allegations of abuse of a former student, police said.
Mohammed Abdullah Saleem, 76, a prominent imam who founded the Institute of Islamic Education in Elgin, turned himself in Wednesday morning at the Elgin police station, where he was charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor, said Elgin police Lt. Rick Ciganek.
Saleem appeared in bond court Wednesday afternoon, where prosecutors said the new charges are based on allegations that Saleem abused the girl dozens of times between 2001 and 2003 when she was a student at the institute and Saleem was the school’s president and principal.
Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney David Shin said Saleem is accused of forcing the girl to sit on his lap while he was aroused and touching her in a sexual manner. Prosecutors said the alleged abuse began about a month after the girl enrolled at the boarding school when she was 14, escalated over time and ended when the girl moved out of state.
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