Brothers found guilty of sex with schoolgirl

Teenagers placed under judicial probation while 31-year-old uncle will serve 10 years in prison

Two teenage brothers have been placed under judicial probation after they were found guilty of having sex with a 16-year-old girl, who alleged that she was kidnapped and raped.

The Emirati brothers, aged 14 and 15, pleaded not guilty and rejected the Egyptian girl’s allegations that they had raped her in a desert area after they and their 31-year-old uncle lured her with an iPhone to go on a drive in February last year.

The uncle also pleaded not guilty and claimed that he had consensual sex with her.

Prosecutors charged the Emirati brothers and their uncle with rape.

In November, the Dubai Juveniles Court placed the brothers under judicial probation while the Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced the uncle to 10 years in jail.

Prosecutors appealed the Juveniles Court’s order and asked the Dubai Appeal Court to imprison the brothers.

Yesterday, the appellate court’s presiding judge Saeed Salem Bin Sarm dismissed the prosecutors’ appeal and upheld the primary court’s decision.

The brothers’ lawyer Hamda Makki contended before the court that the girl lied about having been kidnapped and raped.

“She joined my clients in their car willingly. She was not kidnapped … she also had consensual sex with them and was not forced to. Actually, the girl asked my clients to give her an iPhone and pay her money to go out with them. She had also been in contact with the suspects on WhatsApp,” Makki said.

The girl had testified that the brothers and their uncle forced her into their car when she was walking in front of her residence.

“They pulled me into the car and sandwiched me in the backseat. They drove to a desert area … they undressed and raped me one at a time. One of them muzzled me while the other raped me. I tried to resist at first but then I got tired. I had met the uncle six times near my house,” she said.

In her defence argument, Makki said: “Had the girl been forced to ride the suspects’ car, then why didn’t she cry for help and try to run away since she was in a crowded area! …The girl also testified in court that she had requested an iPhone to meet the suspects … this is a proof that she went with them willingly. The forensic report confirmed that there were no bruises or injuries on her body. … She had also told the uncle that it was her father who had raped her and made her lose her virginity … she also had claimed to the suspects that she was used to having sex with men for money.”