Dubai: A safety expert lost his appeal and will spend two years in jail for molesting and coercing a 13-year-old boy to perform sexual acts with him, in his car. He also threatened to emasculate the boy.

In June 2018, the Emirati expert, 29, talked the 13-year-old Syrian boy into going with him to meet an old friend at a shopping mall.

After the boy agreed, the man picked him up in his car and went to a deserted area in Al Warqa’a.

The accused parked the car in an unlit spot and got into the back seat along with the boy, after locking the doors.

After he threatened to harm the boy and emasculate him, the victim surrendered to the man’s threats and engaged with him in sexual activity.

Then he coerced the teenager to expose himself and perform an indecent act.

The defendant then dropped the boy in front of a football club in Al Ghusais and gave him Dh120 to take a taxi back home.

Once he reached home, the teenager told his mother about the ordeal and she reported the matter to the police.

In October, the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the defendant of molesting and sexually abusing the teenager.

The defendant appealed his primary punishment before the Dubai Appeal Court and sought to acquit himself. He pleaded not guilty in the Appeal Court and rejected the boy’s allegations.

On Wednesday, presiding judge Saeed Salem Bin Sarm rejected the defendant’s appeal and confirmed his two-year jail sentence.

The teenager said the incident happened after he had agreed to go with the accused to meet another friend.

“When I saw him, he told me that the friend was not showing up and he convinced me to ride with him in his car. He drove to a dark and unpopulated place where he parked. When he asked me to remove my pants, I refused. Then he told me that he would hurt my private parts. He then undressed me and abused me sexually. Afterwards, he dropped me at Al Ghusais and gave me Dh120 to go back home. Before I left his car, he threatened to get all his friends to abuse me if I told anyone about what he had done. I felt humiliated at not being able to defend myself and told my mother what had happened,” the boy said.

The appellate ruling remains subject to appeal before the Cassation Court.