The Public Prosecution on Sunday referred Mohamed Taher, founder of Beit Fatem, to criminal trial following accusations of him sexually assaulting three girls, including one who was a minor at the time of the alleged assault, Abdel Fattah Yehia, a lawyer with the Egyptian Foundation for Women’s Issues and legal representative of the complainants, told Al Manassa.
According to Yehia, the complainants’ legal team has not yet been able to review the referral order or the charges ultimately brought against Taher. He noted that during the investigation, Taher was confronted with accusations including sexual harassment and human trafficking.
Yehia said the referral followed extensive investigations, including two months of inquiries and evidence gathering before Taher’s arrest, followed by two months of pretrial detention to complete the investigation.
He added that, over the past two months, the Public Prosecution tasked the Internet Investigations Department and the Public Security Sector with examining the digital evidence included in the case file and preparing technical reports, which concluded that the allegations against the defendant were substantiated.
In April, the Public Prosecution announced it was investigating allegations that “an individual” had sexually assaulted several girls by exploiting their vulnerable circumstances after they had sought his support and recovery services.
Although the prosecution’s statement, in line with its usual practice, did not identify the suspect, a legal source involved in the investigation, who attended the proceedings as counsel for the complainants, confirmed to Al Manassa that the accused was the founder of Beit Fatem, a center that presented itself as a refuge for psychological support and promoted itself as “a safe place for comfort, companionship, joy, and humanity.”
In February, screenshots containing messages and complaints from girls accusing the founder of Beit Fatem of sexually assaulting them circulated online, prompting a social media campaign under the hashtag #DidYouExposeAPredatorToday, a play on the hashtag the accused himself had promoted, #DidYouHugYourDaughterToday. Rights groups also urged victims to come forward and file official complaints.
The complainants’ testimonies stated that the alleged assaults took place at various locations, including the unlicensed headquarters of a nonprofit organization in Cairo’s Garden City district, between 2022 and 2025, in addition to another alleged incident dating back to 2017.
The prosecution’s statement indicated that the defendant exhibited a recurring pattern of abuse. It cited a staff member at the organization as saying that Taher deliberately dismissed employees early or instructed them to arrive late “so that he could commit these acts away from the eyes of witnesses.”
The Public Prosecution said the defendant admitted to committing some of the acts attributed to him. It added that investigators examined his phone and electronic devices, ordered police reports and the Human Trafficking Crimes Combating Unit’s findings to be added to the case file, and said the investigation remains ongoing.
