63-year-old man on trial for raping stepdaughter’s friend

Dubai: A 63-year-old man has been accused of sneaking into a bedroom and raping the teenaged friend of his stepdaughter, a court heard on Thursday.

The 17-year-old British teenager had been staying over at her friend’s place for a birthday party when the 63-year-old British stepfather, S.B., sneaked into her room and raped her at his residence in Dubailand.

Prosecutors accused S.B. of raping the teenaged Briton and also molesting her the night before he raped her in November.

The suspect pleaded not guilty and firmly refuted his charges when he appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Thursday.

Prosecutors said the suspect abused the fact that the girl was sleeping in one of the bedrooms at his residence before he sneaked in and raped her.

He was also accused of groping her the night before.

“Not guilty … not guilty,” the 63-year-old was heard telling presiding judge Urfan Omar in courtroom three.

His lawyer lodged an official request to have the suspect bailed.

“I am a grandfather … I respectfully ask the court to grant me bail … this is a unique case,” argued S.B. indicating before the three-judge bench that he didn’t commit the alleged crime.

The 17-year-old girl claimed to prosecutors the incident happened when she went to spend the night at her friend’s place who was celebrating her birthday.

“We were around 20 friends and we were having a sleepover. During the party, I noticed that my iPhone had been missing … I cried when I searched for it and could not find it. The suspect came to me, molested me repeatedly and told me I was pretty. He also told me he wished he was 30 years younger and continuously harassed and stalked me. At 10.30pm, he hugged and molested me again … when his wife saw him, she shouted ‘I want a divorce’.

"My friend gave me something to wear for sleeping … when I went down the hall with one of my friends to bring water, the suspect invited me to sleep beside him on a sofa. I returned to the room and slept … at 7am, I woke up suddenly when someone was groping me.

“When I turned, I saw the suspect and he had his hands inside my clothes. He removed my dress and raped me … I could not resist him because I was too scared and he was physically stronger and bigger than me. When he finished and went to the bathroom, I did not know what to do. I cried a lot. When I went to my friend’s [the stepdaughter’s] room to tell her what had happened, she did not answer. I went to my other friend and told him what had happened. My friend advised me to remain silent to avoid creating any problem … we went down for breakfast and when my friend [the stepdaughter] saw me crying, she asked me what had happened, but I said nothing,” the teenaged Briton claimed to prosecutors.

Records said the 17-year-old told her Indian schoolmate about the incident, who then convinced her to discuss the incident with the school’s social worker.

The school’s management thereafter told the girl’s mother, according to records, what had happened.

The school’s vice principal testified to prosecutors that the 17-year-old girl was crying and severely depressed when she told her what had happened.

“She alleged to me that the [friend’s] stepfather chased her during the party and molested her repeatedly. She claimed as well that the suspect told her he wished he was younger to try his luck with her. The 17-year-old further alleged she ignored the suspect’s harassment and never imagined that he might rape her. The tone and seriousness in which she divulged to me what had happened doesn’t show that she had fabricated the incident,” she claimed.

Presiding judge Omar adjourned the case to hear prosecution witnesses when the court reconvenes on April 18.