Rapist student awarded life imprisonment

An Emirati student, who raped a woman compatriot in his place after he fooled her into believing that he would marry her and took her to his place on the pretext of showing her their future home, was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday by the Court of First Instance.

According to prosecution records, the 24-year-old defendant had been in a loving relationship with the victim through phone chatting. On the day of the incident, he lured her to go see his place where they would live after marriage. There, he illegally confined her in his bedroom, raped and molested her forcefully.

The student was found guilty of rape and molestation with the use of force, kidnap and illegal confinement by deceit. The verdict can be appealed within 15 days at the Court of Appeal.

The victim, a 28-year-old writer, told the prosecutor that the defendant fooled her into believing that he would marry her and on that day in January he lured her to go see his place in Mizhar where they would live after their marriage.

She said that the defendant had been calling her on her mobile phone as he knew one of her brothers.

Her brother had had a sword fight and the defendant gave him a ride from the police station. Her brother used the defendant’s mobile phone to call her and since then the accused kept on her calling her and sending text messages claiming his love for her and said he wanted to propose to her.

On the day of the incident, he called her on her mobile phone and claimed he had a car accident and that he wanted to see her. He then led her to his villa in Mizhar and on reaching there he grabbed and dragged her inside.

He then took her to his bedroom, slapped her and forced her to take off her head cover and abaya. He then undressed her and molested her. He beat her when she tried to run away from him and in order to scare her, he also threatened that he would call her brother on the phone and tell him that she was with him.

He then raped and molested her while beating her up. He told her not to tell her parents and her sister promising that he would visit her family to propose to her.

When the accused ignored her calls later in the day, the complainant told her sister who in turn informed her husband and then filed a complaint at the Al Qusais police station.

A police lieutenant quoted the defendant as admitting that he knew the complainant and that he had sex with her. He alleged that it happened with her full consent.

The forensic medicine report of the General Department of Criminal Evidence confirmed that the complainant had had sex at the time the complaint was filed. The victim also had bruises on her body.

mary@khaleejtimes.com