Dubai: A clerk has been accused of sexually molesting an 11-year-old schoolgirl while she was present in a shop with her parents.
The 31-year-old Sri Lankan clerk, A.N., was said to have taken the Indian girl by surprise when he came from behind and touched her inappropriately while she was beside one of the shelves in October.
The defendant admitted that he molested the girl as he entered a guilty plea before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Sunday.
“Did you grope her from behind?” the presiding judge asked the defendant in courtroom three.
“Yes I did… I am sorry,” replied the defendant, who remains in custody until the next hearing on January 6.
According to the accusation sheet, prosecutors said the defendant breached the girl’s innocence when he took her by surprise and molested her and drew his body close to hers in an indecent manner.
The Indian girl testified to prosecutors that the defendant behaved with her in an indecent manner while she was present in the shop.
“He grabbed my waist and touched me inappropriately. He grabbed me two times… then I told my parents what happened and they told the police,” the girl told prosecutors.
The girl’s father testified to prosecutors that the defendant rubbed his body against his daughter’s body.
Prosecution records contained photo images [taken from the shop’s CCTV cameras] that showed the suspect molesting the girl.
Law enforcement officers also seized the clothes that A.N. wore during the alleged incident.
The defendant was quoted confessing to his crime when he was questioned by prosecutors.
