Man charged with molesting girl in an Abaya shop in Dubai
Police say helping women try on abayas wasn’t part of the salesman’s role in store
Dubai: A man has been accused of molesting a 15-year-old girl while she was trying on an abaya in a shop in Dubai Mall, a court heard on Thursday.
The 31-year-old Indian defendant allegedly tried the abaya on the victim while her mother was busy with another saleswoman before touching her inappropriately, according to the Dubai Court of First Instance.
Last November, the teenager went with her family to Dubai Mall and entered an abaya shop. Her mother was busy trying on an abaya on with another saleswoman, when the defendant helped the victim try on an abaya and touched her body.
A 36-year-old Emirati police officer said: “The defendant told me that he was helping the girl try on an abaya despite it not being part of his duty in the shop. He claimed that he was closing the abaya’s buttons when he accidentally touched the girl.”
Scared and anxious, the girl ran outside the shop to inform her father.
CCTV footage in the shop showed that the man had touched the girl inappropriately.
The accused was charged with sexually abusing the girl and a ruling will be heard on February 28.