A prominent Muslim scholar and founder of a suburban Chicago Islamic school has been charged with sexually abusing a former employee on campus.
Mohammad Abdullah Saleem, president of the Institute of Islamic Education in northwest suburban Elgin, has been arrested and charged with sexually abusing a 23-year-old woman who worked at the northwest suburban school last year, the Associated Press reported. The victim reported in December that the 75-year-old had "committed an act of sexual conduct against her" while she was working at the institute in April 2014.
The Islamic Institute for Education, founded in 1989, is a boarding school where thousands of Chicago area youth have immersed themselves in study of the Quran and are devoted to the teachings of Islam.
Several months ago, the school launched an investigation after allegations against Saleem were posted on a blog by Loyola University Chicago chaplain Omer Muzaffar, the suspect's attorney Thomas Glasgow, said. Detectives from the Major Investigations Division had also joined the investigation, according to the statement.
The unidentified victim and three other women, who allege that they were abused as minors, plan to file a civil lawsuit on Tuesday, according to her lawyer Steven Denny.
On Sunday, Saleem was taken into custody after an "extensive investigation" and subsequently charged with criminal sexual abuse, a Class 4 felony, according to the Elgin Police Department. He is due in Cook County bond court on Tuesday, Chicago Tribune reported.
The accusations have shocked the South Asian Muslim community, who for decades has considered Saleem one of the area's leading orthodox scholars.
Meanwhile, the Institute of Islamic Education, which includes grades six through 12, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday morning. A phone number listed under Saleem's name in Gilberts was disconnected, Fox Chicago reported.
