Paedophile Koran teacher's funeral will be held at mosque where he sexually assaulted four girls as young as five after he dies in prison aged 83

• Mohammed Sadiq, 83, from Cardiff, was convicted of sexual assault on a child 
• Koran teacher will have funeral at Madina Mosque where he carried out abuse
• One worshipper criticised  decision to allow funeral of a convicted paedophile

A convicted paedophile and trusted Koran teacher who died in prison will have his funeral at the same mosque where he abused his young victims.

Mohammed Sadiq, 83, from Cyncoed, Cardiff, was sentenced to 13 years in Parc Prison, Bridgend, in 2017 after being convicted of six counts of indecent assault and eight counts of sexual assault on a child under 13. 

However the disgraced teacher, who targeted girls in his religious classes at the Madina Mosque between 1996 and 2006, will now have his funeral held at the same mosque after a request from his family.

One worshipper criticised the decision to hold the funeral at the mosque and said: 'I think the management should have thought before they allowed the funeral of a convicted paedophile to take place where he committed his heinous crimes. 

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Convicted paedophile Mohammed Sadiq (pictured), 83, from Cyncoed, Cardiff, will have his funeral at the same mosque where he abused his young victims

'I wonder how the victims, who are members of this community, will feel. I think the public at large should be aware of what's happening.'

During his trial the court heard how Sadiq would touch his victims on their breasts and private parts and lay one girl face down on his lap and slapped her on the bottom and the top part of her legs. 

His sentence was later reduced to nine years on appeal but an appeal against his conviction was rejected. 

Sentencing in 2017, Judge Stephen Hopkins QC told Sadiq: 'You have not and you are still not showing any remorse at all for what you did.

'You appear to have no understanding of the harm and humiliation you inflicted on four young children, as they were.' 

In an interview at the time of his trial, one of his victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: 'It's quite sad really. I don't really like to look back at my childhood because for most of it I was quite down and had sort of negative feelings most of the time.' 

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Sadiq was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2017 after being convicted of six counts of indecent assault and eight counts of sexual assault on a child under 13

She described how she would be called to read the Koran and Sadiq would touch her 'inappropriately'.

She said: 'He would call out my name and call me to sit next to him behind his desk in his classroom. It would be to learn to read the Koran and I would be sitting there learning, reading and reading what I'd learnt.

'I don't think he paid any attention to what I was reading. A few minutes he would reach down under my clothes and just touch me inappropriately. And that would last for as long as he felt I suppose.

'I think it was just sort of shock when it first happened. 'Oh no, what's happening?' And then after that it just became: ''Okay this is what he's doing, and I don't really have control over it''.

'So I just let it happen and let him do what he wants and when it's finished it's finished and I can get away.' 

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Sadiq, who carried out his assaults at the Madina Mosque in Cardiff (pictured), worked at the religious establishment for 36 years 

A committee member of the Madina Mosque, confirmed it would be holding the funeral prayer - adding it was both the wish of Sadiq and his family that it be held there.

The committee member said: 'We feel sympathy for the victims and their families. We supported the conviction and we encouraged members to come forward.

'But now the person has died we don't look at what wrong happened in the past, what we are looking at is a family who is in distress.'

Mosque committee chairman Javed Iqbal added: 'We wholeheartedly sympathise with the victims. The mosque is a place of worship for any Muslims. We sympathise with the victims and the bereaved family.'

Sadiq targeted the girls, aged between five and 11 during religious classes. He was found guilty of sexually touching girls on the stomach, chest and private parts while in his lessons.

Sadiq, who taught at Cardiff's Madina Mosque for 36 years, denied that he carried out the assaults and claimed the allegations had been made up by the four complainants due to an internal row in the mosque between two factions. 

A spokesman for prison operator G4S confirmed Sadiq, of Cyncoed, Cardiff, died in Parc Prison, Bridgend, on January 8.