Apart from giving him a six-and-a-half year jail term, a US court has ordered an Ahmadi leader to be registered as a sex offender in accordance with Chapter 62 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.

Judge Sherry Shipman of Denton County court awarded Ahmadi leader and teacher Muneeb Ur Rehman this sentence on August 5 as he confessed to the crime of repeatedly raping a 14-year-old boy from his congregation on different occasions between March 2018 and March 2020.

When Muneeb is registered as a sex offender it means he will be prohibited from living within 1,000 feet of a residence where minors live. He would be restricted from moving into a home near a daycare, playground, youth centre, school or park.

Under Texas laws, if a convicted sex offender violates such rules or other terms of their supervision, they can face even more penalties. The law prohibits landlords from knowingly renting a residence to a sexual offender within 1,000 feet of a place where children gather.

Muneeb was convicted of six charges, including three charges of sexual assault of a child and three charges of indecency with a child by sexual contact. The same charges against Muneeb are pending trial in Harris County where he is planning to plead guilty to get a concession in the sentence.

The crimes took place between March 2018 and March 2020 when he was working on an assignment from Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya to oversee boys between seven to 15 years of age at the Ahmadi Bait-ul-Ikram Mosque, Dallas, Texas.

He was arrested on May 11, 2020, and was later released on bail after furnishing a $100,000 surety bond. His bail was cancelled and the bond forfeited upon his failure to appear in court and he was declared an absconder. He was arrested and put behind bars.

A district court granted him bail on June 13 against a bail bond worth $3 million but he has not furnished the bail bond so far and therefore he was still in jail. His trial in Collin and Harris counties will start later. He is from Canada and his passport is in police custody.

Muneeb groomed the 14-year-old boy under his care. Over the course of at least 11 documented encounters, he sexually abused the boy at his apartment, in his car, and during community events and on youth group trips, they both attended. During this time period, the victim was appointed Nazim Atfal (head of boys aged seven to 15) on July 21, 2019, while Muneeb was in his immediate supervision while posted as Motamid Khuddam.

Upon learning about the grooming and sexual assault, the victim’s family complained to the police and Muneeb was arrested on May 11, 2020. He was subsequently removed from the post of Motamid Khuddam. Muneeb was appointed Motamid Khuddam in Fall 2017 while he was given the assignment of teaching Sunday School classes in Fall 2019 and continued in these roles until his arrest in May 2020.

Ahmadiyya Community head visiting Dallas

Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya central leader Mirza Maghfoor Ahmad, who is based in the UK, is scheduled to visit Dallas city during the first week of October. Rumors are rife within the US Ahmadiyya community that the leader would meet the victim’s family to redress their grievances.

However when contacted by the Religion Observer, the father of the victim said no one from the Jamaat has contacted them in this regard so far.