Watchman molests 6-year-old boy in surveillance room in Dubai

Dubai - The boy was playing outside with his friend when the watchman called him inside the surveillance room.

A watchman was caught on CCTV cameras sexually abusing a six-year-old boy in the room where he worked, the Dubai Court of First Instance has heard.

The 37-year-old Indian man is accused of luring the boy inside the surveillance room on the pretext of wanting to show him something. The defendant denied a molestation charge in court. He was accused of touching the boy inappropriately and kissing him "several times".

The incident was registered at the Jebel Ali police station on October 3. The boy's mother said her son was playing outside in the garden with his neighbour. "The other kid went to the building where he lived and my son followed him a few minutes later. But then the watchman called him to go inside the surveillance camera room," the mother said.

There, the man allegedly molested the boy.

The accused tried to keep the boy inside, but the victim rushed out to catch up with his friend after seeing him walk out of his flat on the camera footage inside the room.

The boy told his mother as she was giving him a bath later that the watchman "did bad things" to him. She went to confront the defendant at the same room, but found he had left by 6pm. She then called the police.

A police lieutenant told the prosecutor: "I went to the building where the incident took place after the call was made to the police. I spoke to the mother and then went to check the CCTV footage. It clearly showed the accused molesting the boy."

The accused was arrested near his place and he confessed to the crime. The relevant CCTV material was used by the prosecutor as evidence in the case.

A ruling is expected on December 25.

mary@khaleejtimes.com