Cleaner molests 6-year-old boy at Dubai mosque, jailed

A 47-year-old cleaner has lost his appeal against a court conviction where he had been found guilty of molesting a 6-year-old boy at a Dubai mosque.
Public prosecution records show the Indian man touched the little boy inappropriately when he found him waiting with his brother for their father to finish his prayer. He had also touched him inappropriately during a previous occasion.
He denied the charge at the Court of First Instance in February. But he was found guilty and sentenced to a three-month jail term, to be followed by deportation. He appealed that verdict, but the Court of Appeals upheld it.
During interrogation, he claimed he was just playing with the boy and that he loved children. The incident was reported to Bur Dubai police station on December 8, 2017.
The boy's father, a 44-year-old Egyptian engineer, said: "I went with my sons for the Friday prayer. When I walked out of the mosque, I saw a man touching my son in an inappropriate way. I approached him and asked him about what he did. He said he was only playing with him. I scolded him and told him to leave immediately.
"However, at home, my son told his mother that the accused had also touched him inappropriately on a different occasion, but he was too scared to tell me." A policeman, who caught and interrogated the cleaner, said he denied the accusations. "The cleaner said he met the boy and talked to him about his age and school. The boy's father then came and asked him about the reason he was standing with his son and told him to leave," the officer said.
During the investigation, the boy's brother testified the defendant grabbed the victim by his waist and touched him. He stopped when their father came and shouted at him to leave.
The appellate court ruling is now final as it was not challenged at the Court of Cassation within the legal deadline.
mary@khaleejtimes.com