Cleaner jailed for molesting boy in mosque

Hamza M Sengendo, Staff Reporter

A cleaner who disappeared with a boy inside a Dubai mosque’s ladies hall and molested him there must spend three years behind bars, a court ruled.

The abused Afghan child, 7, was narrating the ordeal to his mother when the Asian defendant, 31, showed up with a bunch of toys and sweets that he had promised to the boy in case he kept the incident a secret.

Prosecutors accused the defendant of making use of his job as the mosque’s cleaner and the boy’s tender age and being alone as his mother was preoccupied with activities of an exhibition organised at the mosque.

He took the boy inside the ladies hall and encroached on him. He was refered to the Dubai Criminal Court on Aug.25. Prosecutors demanded a rigorous punishment. He will be deported after serving the jail term.

On the record, the mother –a housewife, 29- said she went to the mosque in Al Rifa’a area on June 4 to visit a ladies garments exhibition organised there.

 “At around 10pm my son came to me running,” she explained.

“He was scared and shivering. His body temperature was high. On asking him what was wrong, he told me that the defendant took him inside the ladies prayer hall, switched off lights and undressed him.”

The defendant forced the boy to do inexplicable acts after which he forced him to lie down.

The boy tried and failed to stop him. After the inexplicable attack, the defendant told him not to tell his parents about it.

He promised to reward him with “a lot of sweets and toys” if he kept it a secret. As the mother sat with the boy recounting the details of the attack, the defendant arrived with sweets and toys and sat near the boy.

He tried to stop the boy from saying anything. The mother shouted at him and ordered him to go away.

He realised the boy divulged the incident to her. He started begging her not to alert her husband about it.

An Iranian corporal said police arrested him at around 6pm the next day. He confessed to have abused the boy. “He told me he was on duty in the ladies washroom when he spotted the boy drinking water.

“He saw that the boy had dirt on his trousers from behind. While dusting off the dirt, his soul enticed him to carry the boy.” He revealed the details of the incident to the corporal. He also confessed before prosecutors and explained more appalling acts he did.