The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office has arrested an Islamic religious teacher for alleged sex crimes against children. Mohamed Omar Ali, 59, was charged with one count of sexual assault of a child and three counts of sexual indecency of a child following his Jan. 3 arrest.

At a press conference Monday morning, Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls said that all four victims were children under the age of 14. Ali is a Somalian national who was living in the U.S. illegally, acording to Nehls. The bail for Ali was set at $125,000, but due to his illegal status, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement put a detainer on Ali, and he is being held at the Fort Bend County jail, Nehls said.

According to Detective Michael Alexander of the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office, Ali gained access to his alleged victims by gaining the trust of the victim’s families, who invited him into their homes to teach the Quran to their children.

Shariq Abdul Ghani, Director of the Minaret Foundation and representative of the Muslim community, added that Ali was not an employee or official volunteer of any particular mosque, but he traveled to different mosques and schools in the area, establishing himself as a defacto religious leader.

In a phone interview on Monday afternoon, Ghani also said that leaders within the Houston Muslim community were unfamiliar with Ghani. Ali lives in the Houston area of Fort Bend County, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

“He has a very fluent understanding of the Quran, and he’s fluent in Arabic, which makes him an ideal teacher,” Ghani said at the press conference.

Sohail Syed, president of The Islamic Society of Greater Houston, said that Ali is not a volunteer or employee at any of their facilities.

“ISGH leadership takes the safety of our community very seriously and has implemented strict background check measures for all of our employees and any volunteers who work with children,” said Syed in a statement. “We are also working with organizations that specialize in this area to create rigorous standards for our community, staff, and volunteers to ensure that our loved ones are safe.”

Surveillance of Ali began in September of 2019, after victims reported the abuse to the FBI, but investigators believe the alleged crimes date back to 2013. Investigators said they believe there are many more victims who have not spoken up, and the sheriff’s office urges those victims to come forward.

The focus now, according to Nehls, is finding these potential victims, which can be a challenge due to some of the nuances of Muslim belief regarding sexual assault. Said Nehls, “You will hear that if a child in the Muslim community is assaulted in any way sexually, that child may be considered unclean, and will that child be able to get married in the future?”

Alexander stated that the stigma has already made the investigation difficult, and his office has not been able to move the investigation as quickly because of it.

Nehls added, “Put your religious affiliation away, folks, and do what's in the best interest of your child, and reach out to us.”

However, Ghani emphasized later in a phone interview that there is no stigma against sexual assault victims.

“In Islam, there’s no bias against the survivor, there’s only a bias against those that have inflicted injustice,” said Ghani. “Survivors are not treated differently. Our community is here to support them in their healing and in their growth.”

Ghani encourages any other sexual assault victims or others with knowledge of Ali to come forward to the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office is also asking anyone who is a potential victim to contact Sgt. Jonathan Howell at (281) 341-4797. Nehls emphasized that all victims will remain anonymous with their identities protected.

“They can come in and total confidence and talk to us, and we will not release their identity in any way,” Nehls said.

claire.goodman@chron.com

brooke.lewis@chron.com