11-year-old assaulted in hotel room, charges say

A man is accused of luring him there with promises of money, then abusing him.

DUBAI // A man lured an 11-year-old boy to a hotel room last summer and sexually assaulted him, the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance heard this morning.

Prosecutors accused QM, 32, a labourer, of coercing the victim into a hotel in Dubai and molesting him, records show.

According to records, QM met the victim four days after Eid al Fitr in the Mega Mall in Sharjah, where the boy lives, and offered him Dh300 if he accompanied him to a hotel in the Bur Dubai area.

JH told prosecutors that he went with the suspect in a taxi to the hotel room, where the suspect allegedly sexually assaulted him, records show. The victim added that when he returned home, he told his father he was at a friend’s house.

JH’s father said that on the day of the incident, his son did not return home but called him from an unfamiliar number and told him he would return shortly, court records said.

But when his son did not return, he called the same number and a taxi driver answered, telling him he had driven the man's son and an adult to Dubai, records stated.

When the boy returned home, his father learned what really happened and reported it to police, records show.

During investigations, QM denied the charges, but the victim told investigators that while the suspect was naked, he had noticed scars on his left shoulder, records show.

A forensic report confirmed the scars as described by the victim.

The next hearing was scheduled for March 6 to summon the suspect, who did not appear in court today.

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