Queens Mosque Instructor Arrested in Sex Abuse of Girl, 9: DA

The girl told a sex abuse prevention workshop using puppets about the alleged abuse, officials said

A sex abuse prevention workshop conducted at a New York City public school prompted a 9-year-old girl to report an alleged case of sex abuse by her religious instructor, resulting in the arrest of the 46-year-old man, prosecutors said. 

The suspect, an after-school instructor at the Masjid Abu Huraira Mosque in East Elmhurst, Queens, is accused of groping the girl on two different occasions while she was attending the program between November 2015 and February 2016, the Queens District Attorney's office said. 

He allegedly said to her, "You are a good girl," as he touched her, prosecutors said.

When a sex abuse prevention workshop using puppets was held at the girl's school, the girl told the workshop instructor what allegedly happened. 

After investigation, authorities arrested the suspect on sex abuse and child endangerment charges. He was awaiting arraignment in Queens Criminal Court Wednesday. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.

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