Death penalty sought for child rapist

Public prosecutors at Dubai Criminal Courts on Monday sought death penalty for a child rapist.

Melvin A., a 29-year-old Filipino book-binder was charged with raping 12-year-old C.G. on Christmas Eve after he consumed seven cans of beer.

The victim's mother told prosecutors the defendant had been raping her daughter since November 2008, and, in one instance, had raped her daughter in front of her younger sister.

Forensic records revealed that the child had been violated numerous times, according to the testimony of a police officer.

Prosecutor Tariq Yakub Al Khait on Monday described the defendant - who hailed from Sariaya town in Quezon Province, south of Manila - as an animal “who lost his humanity'' and asked the court to protect the innocence and sanctity of childhood by issuing the maximum sentence.

Prosecution records reveal that on Christmas Eve, C.G.'s mother, M.G., arrived home at about 7pm to find the house empty and the defendant, who shared the flat with the victim's family, sleeping in his room.

The mother found the victim and her sister in a distraught condition at their neighbour's flat.

“She came and handed me a note, without uttering a word, stating that she was raped by Melvin and was not able to protect herself,'' the mother told prosecutors.

In the note, the victim also pleaded with her mother to send the defendant home, and that she wanted her dad to return from the Philippines.

M.G. told prosecutors the defendant did not deny the incident when she called him over and questioned him.
She said her daughter told her the defendant had also raped her a month before the Christmas Eve incident and that her younger sister had witnessed the earlier rape.
The weeping 12 year old told her mother and investigators that she never spoke about the incident because she was terrified of the defendant.

In court, Melvin admitted his crime and pleaded for leniency. Presiding Judge Hamad Abdul Latif Abdul Jawad said the sentence will be announced on April 6.