Private Quran tutor jailed for molesting girl

Dubai: A businessman has been sentenced to a year in jail for molesting a seven-year-old schoolgirl and coercing her to satisfy him sexually while giving her private Quran lessons at home.

The 26-year-old Pakistani businessman, H.A., had been teaching the Pakistani girl for nearly two years during which he molested her several times at her parents’ residence in 2015.

The Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced H.A. in absentia after convicting him of molesting the child.

According to records, the defendant took advantage of the fact that he was alone with the girl in a room and molested her.

The accused indulged in indecent behaviour and coerced the girl to touch him, said records.

The girl’s mother testified that H.A. molested her daughter whenever he came to teach her the Quran.

“My girl told me that the accused had been acting badly with her. When I asked her how, she said he used to touch her indecently and made her satisfy him. H.A. had been coming to our flat for nearly two years — he used to sit with her in a private room behind closed doors and sometimes the door would be left partly open. H.A. used to come over at the weekend and stay for around 25 minutes,” she told prosecutors.

The girl told prosecutors that at first she was scared and afraid to tell her father about the defendant’s inappropriate behaviour.

“He used to coerce me to touch him for a few minutes. He molested me several times. I told my mother because I was scared to tell my dad,” she was cited as claiming to prosecutors.

According to Sunday’s ruling, presiding judge Mohammad Jamal said the accused will be deported following the completion of his jail term.