Dubai maid cleared of sexually abusing sponsor's 2-year-old son

Dubai - The maid had allegedly taught the child to inappropriately touch her.

A housemaid was cleared on Monday of the charge of sexually abusing her sponsor's 2-year-old son.

The Court of First Instance found the 32-year-old Ethiopian maid not guilty of inappropriately touching the little boy. She was also acquitted of training him to touch and grope her.

The case dates back to and prior to October 6, 2013.

"My wife told me she spotted our son sitting on the maid's lap while touching her bare chest. She also saw him biting the maid's behind and groping her while the latter was laughing, which means she had taught him to do that," the boy's 41-year-old Emirati father said.

"I asked my wife why she was late in telling me about it she said she was worried I might beat the maid up. She was also concerned we might not get another maid easily and she had warned the maid more than once against such behaviour."

The father added: "I asked my son why he was behaving in a bad way and he said he was playing. He told me the maid taught him that."

The boy's Moroccan mother, 38, said her boy told her the maid had touched him inappropriately. "After she ran from our home, we discovered what she had done towards our son affected his behaviour. He would touch and bite women shoppers and female guests at our house just the way the maid had trained him to do with her."

The court ruling may still be appealed by the public prosecution.

mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai