A CHILD rapist who fled to Pakistan to evade justice has been jailed for almost 10 years.

Muhammed Saleem, 19, wrote to his father saying he was the victim of racism and false allegations before leaving the country in 2015.

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But last month Saleem told family it was ‘time to face the music’ and flew back to the UK where he was arrested.

While he was away he was convicted of raping a teenage boy who he lured to his attic, pulling up the ladder so the boy could not escape.

Preston Crown Court heard Saleem, of no fixed address but formerly of Blackburn, bullied the boy and his 14-year-old friend into sexual activity with him.

Judge Jacqueline Beech, sentencing, said: “(One boy) felt ground down by you and eventually caved in.”

The court heard the two boys had planned to camp out in the garden but Saleem persuaded them to come to his home when it started to rain.

He took the boys to the attic but when one boy decided to leave he tried to warn his friend he shouldn’t be alone with Saleem.

However the boy did not understand his friend’s gestures and stayed in the attic, where Saleem raped him.

Judge Beech said: “The boy was effectively trapped. Even if he had been able to leave the bedroom he would not have been able to descend the ladder.

“The boy attempted to fight back. He was trapped in the attic, unable to leave.”

Saleem’s offences came to light when the other boy’s mum looked at his mobile phone and saw threatening text messages from Saleem.

In a victim personal statement, the boy who was raped by Saleem said he had suffered anxiety and flashbacks.

He said the police turning up at his house was ‘like a bomb being dropped on it’ and said he felt he had no control over his life.

Saleem was arrested and granted bail while the allegations were investigated.

He was allowed to return to his family home.

A trial date was set for August 2015 but on August 17 the prosecution alerted the court that Saleem appeared to have fled the country via Dublin.

Judge Beech said: “You wrote an entirely self-serving letter to your father. Your stance was ‘I didn’t do anything wrong and I am a defenceless victim of racially motivated allegations’.”

Saleem was convicted of three counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of rape and one of sexual assault. He was jailed for nine years and nine months.