A 64-year-old man from Southall has been jailed for ten years having been found guilty of multiple counts of historic child sex offences in connection with incidents which took place from 1984 to 2004.
Tahir Mahmood, of Wentworth Road, Southall was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on 4 December 2023 for the following:
- Ten counts of indecent assault on a male contrary to section 15(1) Sexual Offences Act 1956;
- Four counts of indecency with a child contrary to section 1(1) of the Indecency Act 1960;
- One of sexual assault contrary to Section 3(1) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
Mahmood also received a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
During his trial Mahmood said he was innocent when accused of the assaults against the three victim-survivors, who were all children at the time of the offences.
Detective Sergeant Mitesh Mulji, who led the investigation said: “Mahmood is a vile predator who has no place in society, he believed he had got away with his crimes, living in freedom for more than 30 years. This case demonstrates it doesn’t matter how much time has passed – we will do everything in our power to ensure predators are brought to justice.
“These three children are now adults and they have lived with this abuse for a very long time. I would like to take this opportunity to commend them for their tremendous strength and courage during this prolonged investigation and for giving evidence in court.
“I urge anyone who has been a victim of Mahmood to come forward to police. We will support you.”
During the two-week trial the court heard how Mahmood had sexually assaulted three young boys between 1984 and 2004.
In September 2018, a report was made to police which revealed how Mahmood had sexually assaulted a child, who was known to him, on multiple occasions between 1984 and 1991.
The victim-survivor who was aged between 10 and 17 years old at the time, was subjected to numerous sexual assaults after Mahmood became a friend of his family. He took the victim out alone in his vehicle to secluded areas in Southall and Hounslow, in order to abuse him.
Throughout the years, he groomed the victim by purchasing food and expensive gifts and made threats to self-harm if the victim told anyone about the abuse.
Following an investigation by specialist detectives a further two victim-survivors were identified. The second victim-survivor was aged between 9 and 13 years old when he was sexually assaulted on multiple occasions. Mahmood would take him out alone in the Southall and Hounslow areas.
The third victim-survivor was 16 years old when he was subjected to a sexual assault in 2004.
Following the reports made to police, Mahmood was interviewed by police on two separate occasions and charged on 19 November 2021.
Sexual Offences Investigative Techniques Officer (SOIT) Claire Merrifield from the West Area Safeguarding team added: “No matter when a person has been a victim of crime, justice can be found, and this investigation proves just that. We fully understand that reporting a sexual crime can be traumatic for anyone. I would urge anyone in this position whether past or present to get in contact with the police – you will be supported by specially trained officers.”
Metropolitan Police are appealing to anyone who has been been a victim of sexual abuse, whether recent or non-recent, to come forward by calling 101 or 999 in an emergency.
