Dubai: Three accused of molesting 4-year-old girl on school bus acquitted

The Court of First Instance, presided by Judge Fahmi Mounir Fahmi, with member judges Jassem Al Blushi and Maher Al Mahdi, acquitted three men of the charge of molesting a four-year-old Indian schoolgirl on a bus.

The Public Prosecution may appeal against the verdict within 15 days. A judicial source said that the defendants may seek civil compensation for damages. Defence lawyer Hussein Al Jaziri told Khaleej Times they would decide on the next step in consultation with their clients.

The court said it could not rely on the confessions of defendants to the police since a translator was absent and therefore the confessions were considered invalid. “The confessions in the interrogations by the Public Prosecution do not also stand since they are incompatible with the technical reports. In addition to the fact that the statements and accounts differ from one defendant to another, the confessions also do not stand in the presence of the forensic report. The confessions were thus ruled out.” The verdict also relied on findings of a medical panel, which was formed by the Ministry of Justice to determine whether the girl was molested or not.

The three men, including two supervisors and a driver - all Indians aged 26, 37 and 44 - were released from the Bur Dubai police detention centre in the afternoon on Wednesday after completing the administrative formalities at the Judgement Implementation Section of the Public Prosecution. They have been in provisional detention since January.

The forensic report of the Criminal Lab said that there were no injuries inflicted on the girl’s private parts and no evidence of sexual intercourse. No blood stains or semen were found on the child’s clothes, or in the bus. The child is still a virgin, it said. The medical panel found that the reddish marks on her sensitive parts were caused by poor body hygiene and bad health care. It was also revealed that one of the supervisors was not present on the bus that day. The court panel said it could not rely on the mother’s statement.

Earlier, Al Jaziri and Samir Jaafar of the defence team had argued that the case lacked substantive evidence. They requested that the school administration issue the GPS route the bus took on the day the incident allegedly happened to prove that they did not divert from the usual school-home trip.

According to the arraignment sheet of the Public Prosecution, the three men had allegedly conspired to molest the girl in November last year. The prosecution accused them of molesting the girl as she was sleeping on the journey back home.

Prosecutor Abdullah Ali Al Mazem earlier presented the court with a psychiatric report on the defendants’ statements. “The defendants were referred to psychiatrists who drafted a scientific and analytical report on their statements. All were proved to be lying while denying, baffling and not being straight to the point,” the report had said.

Jaafar had countered that the police complaint was filed 59 days after the alleged molestation took place. “It is impossible to wait all that time to file a lawsuit if there is a serious crime like this one.”

Jaafar termed the accusations as malicious and fabricated aimed at extortion.

Al Jaziri had argued that the school where the girl studied was in Nad Al Sheba, while her home was in Karama. “The route the bus takes is very crowded and the distance is short which makes it absurd that they could have molested the girl.”

“There is no eyewitness and all the statements were taken from the girl’s mother quoting her daughter,” he had said.

He had wondered how the defendants could be interrogated in the absence of a translator.

According to the arraignment sheet, the defendants had dropped all the children at their homes and allegedly called the girl’s mother to reassure her. They had then parked the bus in an empty parking lot, it said. The driver allegedly made her sit on his lap and caressed her head and kissed her. The other defendants also did not have mercy on the helpless girl, the arraignment said.

School relieved

A spokesman for GEMS Education, said: ‘‘GEMS Education notes that the Dubai Court has reached a conclusion that no rape or molestation of one of its students by the accused in the case has occurred, thereby conclusively refuting assertions which appeared in certain sections of the media that GEMS Education or Dubai Modern High School has failed to protect its students.’’

‘‘In the interest of the safety and wellbeing of our students in general, we are thus relieved that the court has now confirmed that no crime has been committed. As GEMS has emphasized throughout, our students’ safety is our main priority.’’

The spokesman added: ‘‘These men are family men, fathers with young children, loving husbands who we understand have endured not only immense emotional but also physical suffering. Their character and integrity have been subjected to attack by many sections of the community. We would caution against people conducting trials by media, and remember that all accused are innocent until proven guilty. It is important to let justice takes its rightful course.’’

Family thanks media

The child’s father thanked the media for the support provided to the family.

‘‘We are thankful to the media and the people who supported us in our fight,” he said.

(Additional reporting by Muaz Shabandri)

• UAE