Mechanic cleared of kidnap, jailed for consensual sex
Housemaid had accused him of rape
Dubai: A mechanic has been cleared of kidnap and sentenced to a year in jail for having consensual sex with a woman, who claimed he raped her.
The Dubai Court of First Instance acquitted the 60-year-old Emirati mechanic, S.I., of posing as a policeman and kidnapping the 33-year-old Ethiopian housemaid.
Meanwhile Presiding Judge Mohammad Jamal modified the rape charge to consensual sex and jailed S.I. for one year.
The Ethiopian woman alleged the Emirati posed as a policeman in front of the Co-op branch in Al Ghusais. When she refused a ride with him he forced her into the SUV on September 20.
After he dropped off two passengers, according to records, he drove to a sandy area where he raped the woman in the back seat.
“I did not claim to be a policeman. I did not rape her. She is a woman with a bad reputation. We went out for a long period of time and I had consensual sex with her several times,” said S.I. when he expressed his astonishment over why she complained after a month.
The defendant said in court: “We hung out several times and she never complained. She is known to be a bad woman… I have been banned from seeing my children and wife.”
The Ethiopian woman alleged: “He came out, grabbed the groceries and threw them in the car. Then he pushed me into his SUV. I told him my papers were at my sponsor’s house. After the other two passengers, who seemed to be workers, got out, he drove to a deserted area. He pulled me out… he said he felt uncomfortable having sex. He had sex with me in the back seat for quite a long period. He offered to take me to his house and to work for him as a housemaid… I refused.”
An Emirati policeman, who questioned the defendant, said the latter claimed that he had consensual sex with the Ethiopian and denied raping her.
Tuesday’s judgement remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
