East London man jailed for child kidnap attempt

AN EAST LONDON man has been jailed for three years, after being convicted of “attempting to take a child so as to remove him/her from a person having lawful control”.

The convict is Tariq Qayyum, 61, of Chadwell Heath. The offence was committed when he tried to befriend an eleven year old girl – and then tried to persuade her to get into his car.

The girl told the Court that on Friday, 15th December last year she had been walking along Church Hill Road, Barnet, on her way to school when a minibus drove past her and then stopped. The driver leaned over and opened the passenger door of the vehicle, which blocked her path.

The driver – Qayyum – spoke to her, asking her to get into the van and telling her, “We can be friends.”

At this point the brave eleven year old did exactly the right thing: she said no, got away from the van, and then told her school what had happened. The school told police the following Monday. Barnet CID stepped up patrols and publicised the story, with descriptions of the van and driver.

The school also warned parents about what had happened – which led to a breakthrough in the investigation. A parent saw Qayyum’s vehicle and noted down the registration number. This was given to the police, who were then able to identify Qayyum. He was arrested on 18th January and charged the next day.

Qayyum appeared at Harrow Crown Court on 5th February, where he pleaded guilty to the charge. He returned to the Court on 16th March and was sentenced to three years in prison.

DC Paul Chase from Barnet CID said, “Naturally there has been a lot of alarm and concern following this incident. I am pleased that we have caught the culprit and brought him to justice. During the course of this investigation we have learnt that Qayyum sought to befriend the victim, waving to her four days prior to his attempt to lure her into his vehicle. This led up to his attempt to get her into his vehicle. The young girl showed great courage and assertiveness in leaving the area immediately and reporting the matter.”

Parents are encouraged to share this story with their teenage children as a reminder of what action to take if approached in this way.

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