DUBAI // A Quran teacher who sexually assaulted a five-year-old girl has had his appeal against his conviction and five-year prison sentence rejected. The teacher, AM, a 22-year-old Indian, attacked the girl on January 20 in front of her older sister. He was convicted in May by the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance, and on Sunday his appeal was rejected by Judge Eisa al Sharief, chief justice of the Dubai Court of Appeal.
The original trial heard that AM, who is also a telephone operator, provided private Quran lessons to the young girl's family six days a week for half an hour between the Maghrib and Isha prayers. The girl's mother saw evidence of the assault on her daughter's clothes and questioned her. "She came to me at 7pm and was afraid," the mother said. "She told me what happened and her sister, who was there, confirmed what happened. I then called her father and police."
Forensic reports attached to the prosecutor's case file say the child was not physically harmed, and that DNA samples from the teacher and from the child's clothing proved he committed the assault. Prosecutors told the court he admitted that he knew how old the girl was, and that he sexually assaulted her. @Email:amustafa@thenational.ae
