Man abused six-year-old, court told

The salesman is accused of accosting the girl in the hallway outside her parents' apartment in Al Nahda.

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DUBAI // A salesman this morning denied sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl last spring, saying he only touched her cheek in a fatherly manner.

Prosecutors accused FM, a 26-year-old Indian, of abusing the girl after he kissed her on her cheek, neck and groin while holding her firmly by her waist.

The victim's mother testified that her daughter was playing in the corridor of her building in Al Nahda area 1 about 6.30pm on the day of the incident in March. PR, 37, said she left her apartment door open so her daughter could return when she finished playing, records show.

"What happened was a misunderstanding by the claimant, your honour," FM said, adding that this was the result of a previous dispute he had with the mother.

PR said FM rang her doorbell and told her he was an Etisalat employee, then started asking her about her subscription with Eitisalat.

Five minutes after he left, she said her daughter came back to the apartment extremely upset.

"I will never play in the corridor again," she said her daughter told her.

When she asked why, the child told her FM met her next to the stairway and started asking her about her father. When she moved closer, he locked them into the stairwell, pulled down her shorts and abused her, the mother testified.

PR said she called her husband, who came to the building and searched for FM before calling police.

According to prosecutors, FM confessed to grabbing the child by her shoulders and kissing her against her will three times on the cheek and once on the neck.

A verdict is expected on June 13.

salamir@thenational.ae