Former Local Squash Coach Jailed for Child Sex Offence
Ajaz Karim sent back to jail having been released last year
Ajaz Karim. Picture: Sussex Police
December 16, 2024
A former Barons Court resident, who worked as a squash coach at the Queen’s Club, has been sent back to jail having been convicted of a child sex offence.
Seventy-year-old Ajaz Karim was imprisoned for 21 months on Friday at Hove Crown Court after a jury heard he assaulted a girl after a hockey lesson at Christ’s Hospital School in Horsham, West Sussex. The victim is now in her forties.
He had been found guilty in November of one count of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 14. The offence was first reported to the police in November 2022. He denied the allegation which mean that his victim had to give testimony in court.
In 2018, he had been convicted of nine charges of indecent assault against victims aged as young as 14 at the same school between 1983 and 1993 and was jailed for 10 years, before being freed on licence in April 2023.
Karim was already a registered sex offender and has been barred from working with young people or vulnerable adults.
Complaints first emerged about him at the school in 1990, with four girls alleging abuse but he continued working there until 1993 after which he was employed at Eton College as well as the Queen’s Club and the Hurlingham Club.
During his initial trial, directors of the Queen’s Club, where he was head of squash and worked for 30 years, spoke in his defence.
Detective Constable Rebecca Wilde, of Sussex Police’s Complex Abuse Unit, said, “Ajaz Karim abused the trust of his victim as a school coach.
“The victim has shown incredible bravery to assist with our investigation and to report the crimes committed against her.
“Ultimately, it was thanks to her courage that we were able to secure Karim’s jail sentence.
“If you or anyone you know is a victim of a sexual offence – no matter when it was – please report to the police.
“You will be heard, we will support you and we will do everything we can to get you justice.”
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