Bolton Crown Court convicts former boxing manager of sexual assault and exposure
Former Amir Khan manager Asif Vali was sentenced to 11 years in prison after a jury convicted him of exposure and sexual assault offences, according to the Manchester Evening News.
Bolton Crown Court heard that Vali, 56, abused a woman over a period that began with inappropriate comments and escalated into sexual acts performed in front of her. He was also convicted of assault by penetration.
Judge Nicholas Clarke KC addressed Vali directly during sentencing.
“By the time you were 46 years old, you had the trappings of a successful life,” the judge said. “You had been involved with Amir Khan in events around the world from which you derived some standing in the local community.”
The judge added: “This was the most disgusting behaviour.” He told Vali, “You have shown no remorse or contrition, and no empathy at all for her predicament.”
Prosecutor Huw Edwards told the court that in the summer of 2012 Vali began “showing a sexual interest” in the woman and sent “inappropriate” text messages. On one occasion, while in America, he messaged her asking what size of knickers she would like him to bring back. She told him she did not want any.
Edwards said the “sexual behaviour” continued and “got worse as time went on,” with Vali getting “too close to her and touching her in ways she says were inappropriate.”
In 2013, the court heard, Vali committed assault by penetration in Bolton. He allegedly grabbed her leg while she was seated, pulled her toward him, and forced her to the floor before pulling down her trousers and underwear. The woman managed to knock over a cup of coffee, causing Vali to move, allowing her to leave the room.
The victim did not report the offences to police until 2019, though she disclosed what had happened to her GP and family members. In a statement read in court, she said: “To cut a long story short, Asif Vali ruined my life and my potential for a long time, and he is still doing so.”
“I felt that I was to blame and that I would be judged by others,” she added. “I believed it was my fault because I’m not good enough and that I am worthless, and deserve to be treated this way.”
Defence counsel Tom Worsfold said Vali “respects the jury’s decision” and was “saddened” to hear of the victim’s struggles. He described the case as a “significant fall from grace from a man with a strong moral compass.”
Vali had previously built a profile in boxing through his association with Amir Khan, dating back to the early 2000s around Khan’s Olympic rise. That chapter now closes with a lengthy custodial sentence and a criminal record that includes eight offences, none previously of similar seriousness.
The court proceedings mark the end of a case that prosecutors said centered on abuse of trust and misuse of local standing.