EX-KARATE WORLD CHAMPION ABDU SHAHER JAILED FOR RAPE
A former world champion in karate has been sentenced to prison for the crime of raping a teenage girl.Abdu Shaher, a businessman who secured his place in sports history by winning gold at the 1988 karate world championships in Cairo, was found guilty on two counts of rape and two charges of sexual assault after a trial held at Teesside Crown Court.
The court was told that Shaher falsely claimed he wanted to show the 18-year-old woman one of his flats used for students, only to assault her in one of the rooms.
The 61-year-old, residing on Acklam Road in Middlesbrough, received a prison sentence of five years.
During the trial, a statement from the victim was read aloud, where she expressed her emotional pain, stating: 'He is constantly present as part of a traumatic chapter in my life, and I feel I will never be free from what he did.
I have chosen not to discuss it with anyone and have closed myself off emotionally.' The judge lowered Shaher’s original sentence from six and a half years to five, citing his age, absence of prior convictions, and his achievements in sports and business.
Originally from Yemen, Shaher is now appealing his conviction.
