Dubai: A driver has been accused of hugging, kissing and groping a 13-year-old schoolgirl while they were alone in an elevator in Discovery Gardens.
Prosecutors charged the 20-year-old Pakistani driver, M.S., with molesting the Indian teenager on March 19.
“No, I did not grope her or kiss her against her will. It’s true that I kissed her… it was a peck on her cheek and was consensual,” said M.S. when he defended himself before the Dubai Court of First Instance.
“You did not molest her?” Presiding Judge Mohammad Jamal asked the defendant.
The suspect, who is in custody, said he only kissed her.
The girl testified that the defendant walked into the elevator behind her while she was heading up to her flat.
“He abused the fact that we were alone and he kissed me two times and groped my top a number of times,” the 13-year-old said.
A Yemeni policeman testified that M.S. was arrested the next day and taken for questioning.
“He claimed that the incident happened when he went to the building to drop off a delivery. The teenager walked into the elevator, according to the defendant’s statement, and asked him his name and nationality. Then he alleged that he kissed her and groped her. The schoolgirl identified the suspect in the police line-up three times.
“When we questioned her, she countered M.S.’s statement claiming that he was the one who spoke to her first. She claimed that he kissed and groped her against her will,” the policeman said.
Prosecution and police records cited the defendant admitting that he kissed and molested the girl.
A judgement will be heard on June 18.