Tailor who molested schoolgirl gets six months

DUBAI // A man who molested a seven-year-old girl in the staircase of her family's apartment building was today sentenced to six months in jail.

The Dubai Criminal Court was told that AA, a 40-year-old Bangladeshi tailor, worked at a shop in the same building in Al Qusais, and met the girl as she was returning home from school at about 3pm on January 10.

The girl's father said the tailor approached the girl as she left her school bus and told her he would escort her to her apartment.

But when inside the building, the tailor dragged the girl to the staircase before kissing her, biting her cheek, pulling down her clothes and touching her inappropriately.

Afterwards, the girl rushed to her family's second floor apartment and told her sister what had happened. When the girl's father heard her account he reported the matter to police and the tailor was arrested at his shop.

The policeman EA testified that when he arrested the tailor, the man willingly confessed.

However, the tailor denied a charge of sexually assaulting a minor when he appeared in court.

He will be deported after serving his prison term.

salamir@thenational.ae