Dubai: A mechanic, who dragged a schoolgirl to the rooftop of a residential complex, where he made her watch porn on his mobile and molested her, has been jailed for a year.

The six-year-old Indian girl was playing with other children in an open area in front of the complex in Hor Al Anz area where she lives in May.

The children gather in the open area at the complex daily between 4pm and 6pm.

The girl was playing when the 28-year-old Pakistani mechanic grabbed her hand and took her to the rooftop of the complex. He then forced her to watch movies of pornographic content on his mobile phone and groped her.

A neighbour who saw the girl scared and crying called her parents and alerted them about what had happened.

The Indian family immediately reported the matter to the police and the mechanic was arrested.

The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the defendant of possessing pornographic videos on his mobile phone with the intent to show them to others and molesting the schoolgirl.

The accused pleaded guilty to molesting the schoolgirl, but denied showing her any pornographic images.

“I molested her, but I did not possess porn on my phone or show it to her,” the defended told the presiding judge in court.

According to the primary ruling, the defendant will be deported and the mobile will be confiscated.

The father said his daughter had requested permission to go down and play with the neighbours’ children.

“She was supposed to go down with the babysitter … I was taking my afternoon nap, while her mother was cooking. However, we came to know later that she didn’t wait for the babysitter and went down on her own. At 5.40pm, a neighbour called us and informed us that our daughter had been molested. The neighbour accompanied our daughter home … she was crying and seemed very scared. My girl told me that the defendant grabbed her by her arm and took her to the rooftop of the complex. Then he made her watch movies on his phone and touched her indecently … she also claimed that he frightened her and asked her not to tell us what had happened. We reported the matter to the police as two children had been previously molested as well,” he claimed to prosecutors.

A police corporal, who questioned the accused following his arrest, testified that the accused claimed that he groped the girl but denied that he made her to watch porn or slapping her.

“When asked about his motives, the suspect alleged that he constantly molested minors to satisfy his sexual desire,” said the corporal.

The primary ruling remains subject to appeal.