ABUSER ADMITS TRYING TO RAPE 15-YEAR-OLD
A child sex abuser who had his conviction overturned by the Court of Appeal has finally admitted attempting to rape a 15-year-old boy.Married father Tanveer Iqbal, 24, had been sentenced to five years in jail at his original trial in September 2004, but he appealed.
Now he will be back on the streets after a judge yesterday reduced his prison term to almost four years following his late guilty plea.
After the Court of Appeal's ruling Iqbal's victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, gave evidence against him for a second time in May this year.
But that jury was discharged after failing to reach a verdict and the teenager was expected to give evidence again via a video link during a third trial starting yesterday.
He was spared that ordeal however after Iqbal's barrister Ian Howard formally asked the judge for an indication of sentence if his client pleaded guilty.
Yesterday afternoon Iqbal, of Enfield Street, Keighley, finally pleaded guilty to attempting to rape the boy in April 2004 and the Honorary Recorder of Bradford, Judge Stephen Gullick, jailed him - this time for three years and 360 days.
Bradford Crown Court heard that Iqbal, who had no previous convictions, had been in custody since his original sentence was passed in 2004.
Because he had also spent a further two months on remand prior to his first trial he had effectively served half of Judge Gullick's sentence and was therefore eligible for release.
Iqbal will, however, be on licence for the next two years and he will also have to register as a sex offender with the police for the rest of his life.
Judge Gullick also made a lifetime banning order which disqualifies Iqbal from working with youngsters.
Prosecutor Timothy Bubb told the court how Iqbal had pulled the boy's clothes during the attack but he later claimed that it was the youngster who had initiated the incident.
