DUBAI // A disabled man, who appeared in court this morning in a wheelchair, is accused of raping a 17-year-old girl to "prepare" her for working in the sex trade.
The Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance was told this morning that the Bangladeshi MM, 42, raped the girl after she was lured into the country with promises of a job as a maid.
Prosecutors also charged MM and his compatriot MR, 28, with human trafficking. They are accused of locking up the girl and another Bangladeshi woman and forcing them to work in prostitution.
According to court records, the girl's father told her she must go to Dubai to work as a maid. But when she arrived on January 6, she was taken to a one-bedroom apartment and locked up there for seven days.
After that she was taken to another flat, where prosecutors said the rape occurred. She told prosecutors she escaped during a taxi ride to another location.
When police raided the apartment, the other victim told them that she also had been promised a maid’s job and that she paid Dh6,500 to come work in Dubai, records show.
The next hearing will be on May 15.
