Maqsood Asif

Maqsood Asif, a 58-year-old man from Watford, has been imprisoned for 18 years following his conviction for multiple sex offences against children committed in the 1980s. The case, heard at St Albans Crown Court, involved historical abuses against a boy and two girls, all of tender years at the time, and came to light in 2018 when the victims reported the crimes to Hertfordshire Police.

The offences occurred at various locations around Watford between the 1980s, with Asif aged between 19 and 33 during the period. He was found guilty by a jury of one count of rape, seven counts of indecent assault, one count of indecency with a male person, and one count of indecency with a child. During the trial, two of the victims, now middle-aged adults, delivered powerful impact statements directly to Asif from the witness box. The male victim, who was just four years old when the abuse began, stated: "At the time I was too young to know what was right and what was wrong." One of the female victims addressed Asif saying: "You sentenced me to a lifetime of trauma. Today, thanks to the jury, justice has been done." The third victim, another young girl at the time, was not present in court.

Sentencing Asif, Recorder David Osborn remarked that he "sought sexual gratification by abusing children of tender years." Asif must serve a minimum of 12 years before being eligible for parole consideration. In addition to the custodial sentence, he will be added to the sex offenders register for life. The case underscores the long-term effects of child sexual abuse and the importance of historical investigations, as highlighted in related BBC coverage on catching historical sex offenders.

Source: BBC News, published 26 January 2020, based on proceedings at St Albans Crown Court and statements from Hertfordshire Police.