Indian snowshoe athlete, Tanveer Hussain has been charged by the Essex County court in New Jersey for sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a 12-year-old Saranac Lake girl. In a press release The Essex County District Attorney Kristy Sprague said:
“Hussain is alleged to have subjected a 12-year-old female to sexual contact and engaged in inappropriate conversations with said child during the time he was in Saranac Lake.”
Accused of misbehavior with a minor
In the March this year, minor girl had told the police that two days after he participated in the World Snowshoe Championships at Dewey Mountain Recreation Center on February 27, Tanveer Hussain allegedly kissed and groped her, Scroll reported.
Hussain had previously denied the charges and also declined a plea deal which would have allowed him to return to India as he wanted to clear his name.
Denial of Visa
Hussain had hit the headlines before arriving in the US for the championship after the US Embassy in New Delhi had denied him and another athlete, Abid Khan visas as reported by NDTV. This was around the time when President Donald Trump had issued an executive order banning travel to the US from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Though India doesn’t come under those seven Muslim-countries, the denial of the visas was seen to be linked to the order issued by Trump. Hussain was finally allowed a visa to enter the US after the lobbying from local officials and residents in the Adirondack.