A convicted child abuser trolled his victims online by pretending to be an investigative journalist and made threats from prison to police officers investigating his case.
Waseem Khaliq, 35, was jailed for 10 years last month with five other men after being convicted of indecent assault and child abduction as part of Operation Stovewood, the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) investigation into allegations of abuse and exploitation in Rotherham.
On Monday, he was handed an additional 45 months in prison for witness intimidation after trolling one of his victims on Facebook and Twitter.
Khaliq also made a phone call from prison to the NCA control centre threatening two of the investigating officers, Sheffield crown court heard. He said he knew where one of them lived, was close to finding out the address of the other, and hoped they died of cancer or Aids.
The court heard Khaliq admit three counts of witness intimidation. The first count relates to a Facebook account Khaliq set up after he was charged. He used the false name ‘“Andros Simpson” and claimed to be an investigative journalist looking into what was happening in Rotherham.
He then used the account to make a series of allegations about one of his victims, claiming she was lying and had only agreed to give evidence after the NCA offered her cash and a new house. He also used the account to contact a number of associates of the victim.
The NCA contacted Facebook and had the account closed down, but similar posts continued to be made using other Facebook and Twitter accounts. These ceased when Khaliq was remanded in custody in March 2019.
The other two counts relate to threatening the two NCA officers investigating the abuse allegations against him in July this year.
A clip of one phone call from 30 July was released to the media, in which Khaliq made threats to reveal where a female officer lived.
“I’ve found her address and I’ll get it put all over Twitter and Facebook. She’s part of the Freemasons and the Illuminati, that’s what she is. She’s the devil and also tell her I hope she gets Aids and cancer as well,” he had said during the phone call from prison.
The NCA senior investigating officer Phillip Marshall said: “Through his vindictive campaign of social media trolling Khaliq only compounded the suffering his victims had already gone through.
“They showed extreme bravery in coming forward and continuing to give evidence despite this, and I once again pay tribute to them.
“Our investigation has been victim-focused throughout, and this conviction demonstrates that we will not tolerate attempts to intimidate victims or our officers who work with them.”