A Muslim man in the UK was sentenced to prison for sexually abusing a teenage girl whose mother sought him out for his alleged healing abilities.
Hasham Lodhi, 41, was found guilty on four counts of assault by penetration and two counts of sexual assault at a trial in February.
His victim, a teen girl, was thought by her mother to be affected by black magic, and was made to believe Lodhi could help her, the Lancashire Telegraph reported.
Lodhi asked his wife to tutor the girl, and eventually convinced the victim to send him nude photos. The abuse escalated during rituals where Lodhi persuaded her to undress and would read from the Quran to "cleanse" her.
Court documents reveal Lodhi told the victim she had "sinned," and "had evil inside her which needed cleaning out." If the girl resisted, Lodhi told her she would "break the circle," and a car accident would kill her or her mother.
Lodhi's wife, who was not involved in the abuse, was present in the home, but warned that evil spirits would affect her if she left her bedroom during the so-called rituals, according to prosecuting attorney, Tobias Collins.
Collins read a statement from the victim who said she has experienced insomnia and flashbacks since the incident. "I felt ashamed as he told me I was unclean and impure," she said.
"You were aware of how vulnerable she was, how much she feared the evil spirits you told her were affecting her, how much faith she could be persuaded to have in you," Judge Daniel Prowse said in Lodhi's sentencing.
"You were able to use her spiritual and religious beliefs as a tool to abuse her. You perverted her genuinely held religious beliefs," he continued, calling the abuse of trust "carefully planned and manipulative."
The court imposed an indefinite restraining order to protect the victim and sentenced Lodhi, who will be registered as a sex offender, to 12 years in prison.
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