Man molests 14-year-old swimming off Dubai's Jumeirah beach

Dubai - The girl's father said at 9pm, he was with his family at Jumeirah beach.

A man was charged at the Dubai Court of First Instance for allegedly molesting a 14-year-old girl as she swam off Jumeirah beach.
Public prosecution records show that the 26-year-old Pakistani worker got close to the Asian teenager, grabbing her waist and hugging her from behind.
The case was registered on June 15 at the port police station.
The girl's father said at 9pm, he was with his family at Jumeirah beach.
"We had other families with us. We let the teen girls play together at the beach while we kept an eye on the kids.
There was a group of about 10 men standing nearby and behaving awkwardly. I yelled at them when I spotted them trying to talk to the girls."
"Then I saw a man - the defendant- approaching my daughter who was in the water. She was inattentive when he grabbed her by the neck. He took her further down. I could see she was screaming at him not to touch her."
The father then ran to the man and pushed him into the water. Other men stepped in and took him away. The two men engaged in a verbal brawl until the police came and caught the accused.
"My daughter got scared and was shaking and speechless after what happened. Paramedics tried to calm her down until she got better," the complainant told the prosecutor.
During investigation, the girl recounted how her friend first told her that a man was getting near her. "I wanted to swim so I did not take that seriously. But that man suddenly grabbed me by the waist and then inappropriately touched me. He also grabbed my neck to force me inside the water several times. He was stopped after my father came to my help. I felt so scared I could not breathe."
A police sergeant said the girl looked terrified and nervous when she told them about the incident. "We had to break the fight between the victim's father and three of the defendant's friends."
The next hearing is scheduled for September 14.

mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai