Man cleared of raping job-seeker after luring her into Dubai hotel room

The man denied charges of rape and sexual assault.

A man has been cleared by the Dubai Court of First Instance of the charge of raping a job-seeker twice at a hotel room.
Prosecutors accused the 23-year-old Egyptian man of making the Filipina think that there was a job interview for her at a hotel. He later lured her to enter a room where he locked the door and forced himself on her twice.
He had also molested her inside his car, as per public prosecution records. The man denied charges of rape and sexual assault.
The court acquitted him of the charges. The reasons behind the verdict were not immediately known.
Prosecutors sought the stiffest legal penalty possible against him while he remains in detention.
The victim, a 27-year-old cleaner, said that she was looking for a job as her visa was to expire in April 2019. "I had two children to provide for back home. At 11.30am on November 16, last year, I was heading for an interview at a hairdressing salon in Karama when a man initiated a conversation with me. He called on me to visit him. He claimed his aunt had a business and would hire me as a secretary. I gave him my mobile number as I needed to be employed."
It was around 1.30pm when she left the salon and received a phone call from the defendant. "He told me his aunt was willing to meet me at her office which is nearby. He was still down the building and I rode in his car upon his insistence. He said his aunt would meet me at a restaurant. On the way, he groped me while pretending he was looking for his cigarette pack that I was sitting on. He would not pull over and let me leave but instead drove faster and said his aunt was waiting for us," she said.
He stopped at a hotel and made her wait in the parking lot for a few minutes. The man then took her inside a room where he entered the bathroom and lit a cigarette.
He raped her at least twice and then put Dh50 in her purse, she told the investigator. He then let her leave. She informed the hotel reception right away.
The police arrived shortly later and arrested the defendant at the hotel in Silicon Oasis. The latter's urine sample tested positive for hashish.
The ruling has been appealed by the public prosecution.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai