Dubai: A man who promoted prostitution on social media networks by posting nude photos of women and ‘lady boys’, has been fined Dh250,000 and jailed for three years.
On Sunday, the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the 29-year-old Moroccan man for working in prostitution and offering sexual services to clients by posting nude photos on many social media networks.
In December, Dubai Police’s cybercrime section noticed during a random cyber-inspection search that the accused had created profiles on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat offering sex services for fees ranging between Dh1,000 and Dh1,500.
Following his arrest in a sting operation, the accused admitted that he had sex with 300 men, had 400 followers on social media and there were more than 200 comments on his profiles.
A policemen at the cybercrime section was commissioned to communicate with the Moroccan by posing as a client. He was apprehended in a sting operation.
According to Sunday’s ruling, presiding judge Mohammad sentenced the defendant to three years in jail and fined him Dh250,000. He will be deported following the completion of his punishment.
He had pleaded guilty in court and confessed before presiding judge Jamal that he had worked as a prostitute, peddling sex on the social media and posted immoral photos.
A lieutenant at Dubai Police’s cybercrime section said they were surfing social media networks when they discovered that someone was offering sex services on Twitter and Facebook.
“We came across an advertisement on social media that was promoting on-call massage and hair-removal services at a hotel or home. The accounts also had pictures of nude women and ‘lady boys’. Further investigation revealed that the same person had established those accounts. We commissioned a policeman to pose as a client, contact the person, and arrange a meeting with him. As part of the sting operation, the policeman called up the person who turned out to be the defendant, who agreed to have sex with the policeman for Dh1,200. Following his arrest, the accused admitted that he had been working as a prostitute. He confessed that he had offered sexual massage services to nearly 300 men for fees ranging from Dh1,000 to Dh1,500,” the lieutenant testified.
Police seized the smart phone that the accused had used to manage his accounts on social media.
Sunday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
