Hafez Ashraf Uddin, of Wivenhoe Road in Barking, was found guilty on June 5 of 13 counts of indecent assault to six girls aged between seven and 14.
The 71-year-old taught in Ipswich during the time of the assaults between 1985 and 1999.
He appeared at Ipswich Crown Court last Friday (November 21), where he was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment.
Uddin has also been ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for life and has been made subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.
The former teacher stood accused of 22 counts of indecent assault in total, relating to seven girls, but was found guilty of 13 offences and not guilty of the other nine.
His offences included Uddin putting his hand inside one of the victim’s trousers, and multiple offences of either touching or squeezing the girls’ breasts.
Police said some of the counts included multiple offences.
Detective Inspector Donna Hopper, of the South Safeguarding Investigation Unit, said: “Hafez Ashraf Uddin abused the respected position of trust that he held in the community and subjected these young girls to shocking assaults – some of them on multiple occasions.
“These assaults have had long-lasting impacts on the victims, who did not feel able or confident to report them at the time for a number of reasons.
“I want to pay tribute to them for their bravery in coming forward and reporting his offences, even though they had occurred many years previously.
“I hope this case demonstrates that despite the passage of time, it is never too late to achieve justice. We want victims to know that they will be heard and that will we investigate wherever it is possible for us to do so.
“No doubt Uddin thought he had got away with his appalling crimes, but he hadn’t counted on the resilience of the victims to speak out and ensure he was made to answer for his actions. He will now spend a significant amount of the remaining years of his life in prison.”
Suffolk Police said that any further reports can be made to the South Safeguarding Investigation Unit via 101, quoting Operation Picton and reference: 37/CJ/667/18.
