Man convicted for raping child in Tower Hamlets

Jalal Hossain was convicted for rape on Friday (credit: Met Police)

A man’s been convicted for raping a child in Tower Hamlets.

Jalal Hossain, 40, who also used the alias, Abdul Sottar, of Tower Hamlets appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday, 6 October where he was found guilty of two counts of oral rape of a child under the age of 13.

Hossain knew the girl and groomed her over the course of several visits to various addresses in Tower Hamlets.

In 2012, the 40-year-old raped and sexually assaulted the girl on two occasions.

The girl disclosed the abuse to a family member in 2016, who made a report to police.

As part of the investigation, officers gathered evidence and witness statements from over the ten previous years.

Hossain was wanted for a number of years but could not be located, as he attempted to evade law enforcement by using a different identity.

The breakthrough came when officers were able to identify a phone number that he was using. They were then able to launch a fast-paced manhunt to find him.

Hossain was arrested on Thursday, 23 March in Kensington, but refused to answer questions about the allegation during his interview. He also denied his real identity and knowing the victim-survivor.

The victim and another witness attended ID procedures in 2023 after he was arrested and he was positively ID’d despite neither witness seeing him for over 10 years.

He was charged in police custody on Friday, 24 March.

Detective Constable Emma Price of the Metropolitan Police’s Central Specialist Crime team, said: “Hossain exploited and took advantage of a vulnerable child and abused the position of trust he had been given. She showed commendable bravery in providing evidence to police and at the trial. I hope that this conviction will bring her a small measure of comfort and a sense that justice has been done.

“We will continue to support her and I hope her actions will encourage any other survivors of sexual abuse to come forward. We are committed to fighting violence against women and girls and we want to help you get the support you so rightly deserve.”

Hossain will be sentenced on Thursday, 7 December at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

If you have been a victim of sexual assault or rape or you have information about an offender, contact police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.

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