Man raped teenage girl and forced her into prostitution, court hears

Girl, 17, lured to Dubai to earn cash for her poverty-stricken family

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A human trafficker made violent threats against a teenage girl to force her to work as a prostitute, a court heard.

The 17-year-old flew from her home in Bangladesh to take up a job offer from a compatriot in Dubai to help her family escape a life of poverty.

Dubai Criminal Court was told that the 44-year-old accused forged documentation to make it appear she was 25 while securing a visit visa for her.

“I am the eldest in my family and my parents can’t work, so I agreed to the accused’s offer to come work for him,” said the Bangladeshi girl to prosecutors.

But when the girl arrived in Dubai in February, she was allegedly raped by the defendant at an apartment in Al Qusais before being forced into prostitution for several months.

Police were alerted to a case of a teenager being made to work in the sex industry and set up a sting operation, in which an officer posed as a customer.

Police then raided the brothel and located the girl, bringing her to safety, court records stated.

The defendant was later arrested.

In court, he denied charges of raping a minor, human trafficking,  facilitating prostitution and having consensual sex with a number of women.

The case is due to be back in court on February 20.