ELGIN, Ill. (WLS) -- A prominent leader in Chicago's Islamic community appeared in court Thursday for a hearing on sexual abuse charges.
Prosecutors say Mohammed Saleem inappropriately touched a girl when she was a student in suburban Elgin.
ABC7 Eyewitness News spoke with a woman who also claims she was abused by the educator.
The woman says she was mad at God for a time.
"It started he moved my scarf and started kissing me on my neck my hands," she said.
She says the inappropriate touching did not end there, and she was only 12.
She said Saleem was supposed to be giving her private Quran lessons over several months.
"What he did was so wrong. It was not anything he should have done to anyone especially sitting in front of the Quran," she said.
Saleem faces two criminal cases of sexual abuse; one from a former student at his Islamic school. That case had a status hearing Thursday.
Saleem also is the subject of a civil case. In that civil litigation, this woman is Jane Doe number 3.
"As much as you want to forget about it, it's still in the back of your mind," she said.
She is now in her 40s and says she feels some guilt about not speaking up sooner. She said hopes any young victims of abuse will feel empowered to speak their truth.
"Don't be scared and don't think this not an anomaly, that it just happened to you. It happens," she said.
Saleem's school and his attorney have not responded for comment. He is due back in court Nov. 13.