Court Hears Finsbury Park Attacker Was Radicalised by Rotherham Child Sex Exploitation Scandal

LONDON (AP) – British prosecutors have described the suspect in the June attack near London’s Finsbury Park Mosque as a “ticking time bomb” who became convinced that all Muslims were extremists or rapists in pedophile gangs after watching a television show on child exploitation in north-central England.

The allegations came during the trial Monday of 48-year-old Darren Osborne, who is accused of driving his van into a crowd of worshippers attending Ramadan prayers. One person died and nine others were injured in the attack.

Prosecutor Jonathan Rees says a handwritten note was found in the cab of the van within hours of the June 19 attack, complaining of terrorists and the exploitation scandal in Rotherham.

Osborne, of Cardiff, Wales, has denied charges of murder and attempted murder.