Teacher sent sexual messages to student

dubai — An Asian teacher admitted to molesting his student and sending indecent messages that prompted the girl to express suicidal thoughts to her teachers and classmates, Dubai prosecutors heard. The girl’s mother said that in May, the school in Al Twar reported a sudden change in her 11-year-old daughter’s overall physical and mental state and behaviour, as she occasionally expressed suicidal thoughts to her teachers and classmates.

“I watched my daughter and it was clear that she was facing psychological and physical pressures. She consistently complained of pain in different parts of her body,” the Syrian mother told prosecutors. She added that in July, she discovered that her daughter, a 6th grader, had been subjected to verbal sexual abuse by her computer teacher, 46-yearold Filipino.

“I discovered he was sending inappropriate sexual messages and images over WhatsApp. I contacted the school’s principal immediately,” the mother told investigators.

At some point, he asked the girl to send inappropriate pictures of herself, the mother said. On July 10, the mother reported him to Al Qusais Police Station.

On questioning, the teacher admitted to sending the girl messages of a sexual nature. He got the girl’s number after he assigned her in a project “The girl got in touch with me on WhatsApp about the project, and that’s when I started asking her to send pictures.” A medical check-up found out the girl had been subjected to verbal sexual abuse but not physical abuse. The teacher has been referred to court with a charge of inciting sin.

sherouk@khaleejtumes.com