A former teacher has been jailed for sexual activity with a girl after she bravely disclosed the grooming to our specialist child abuse team.
Mazhar Hussain has now been locked up for more than three years.
The girl, who was 14, got in contact with police after speaking with a family friend about Hussain’s grooming and officers arrested the 38-year-old later that day.
She explained to WMP officers, who are specially trained to support abuse victims, that she believed she’d entered into a marriage with Hussain following an over-the-phone ceremony.
The girl had been given that phone, plus a bracelet, as birthday gifts by Hussain while Police also found 2,244 message exchanges between Hussain and the girl between 15 April 2018 and 18 May 2018. Many of those were of an explicit nature.
The messages also showed that Hussain had met with the girl and that sexual activity had taken place.
On a number of occasions Hussain and the girl referred to each other as husband and wife.
Hussain, of Old Farm Road, Stechford, admitted four counts of sexual activity with a child under the age of 16, at an earlier hearing at Birmingham Crown Court.
He was yesterday (Monday 22 March) sentenced to three years and three months in jail. Hussain was also put on the sex offenders register and given a sexual harm prevention order for life.
DC Dave Cooper, from our Public Protection Unit, said: “We must commend this girl for having the courage to tell us about what was happening to her.
“We were able to support her with specially trained officers as the case progressed and her evidence proved crucial in ensuring Hussain has now been jailed.
“We also hope that this sentencing will encourage other youngsters who may be being groomed to be brave enough to come forward and let us help and support them too.”