Former Maldivian national cricket coach Mohammad Asif Ameen Khan has been sentenced to more than 53 years in jail on seven counts of sexually assaulting several children he coached.
The South African coach, who coached the national men’s and women’s cricket teams, was arrested in October 2019 on sexual assault charges and charged with nine counts.
Of these, three counts of sexual assault, two counts of sexual assault on a child in a position of trust, one count of using obscene language, one count of creating a materially obscene condition by an act which would not achieve a legitimate purpose was proved against him.
He was sentenced to 21 years in prison for three counts of sexual assault. That’s seven years for each charge. He was sentenced to 15 years for the first count and 17 years for the second count of sexual assault of a child in a position of trust.
He was also convicted of using obscene language and sentenced to 1 month and 15 days. He was sentenced to 22 days for creating a materially obscene situation by an act that would not achieve a legitimate purpose.
The total sentence is 53 years, two months and seven days. But the sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment of 25 years.
Out of the nine charges, he was found guilty of the seven based on the statements given by Asif’s victims and the evidence supporting them.
Asif has been accused of sexually assaulting children as well as adults. In an earlier statement, the players alleged that Asif had sexually assaulted young cricketers on several occasions.
They include players who were under 18 at the time he allegedly committed the act.
