Man accused of raping teenage daughter, Abu Dhabi court told

A man with a history of alcohol abuse raped his 14-year-old daughter, hears court.

ABU DHABI // A man raped his 14-year-old daughter while her mother was out begging, a court heard yesterday.

The father, who has a history of alcohol abuse, waited until the mother and his three sons - aged 8, 11 and 13, were out before carrying out the attack, prosecutors told the Criminal Court. The family of six, from Morocco, live in one room.

The mother reported the father to police after her daughter complained he was abusing her. When officers interviewed the child she said she had been raped more than 20 times.

Forensics tests found evidence that she had been anally raped on numerous occasions. The tests also found traces of the father's blood on her underwear and golden jalabeya.

Chief Justice Sayed Abdul Baseer, head of the court, asked the mother to leave the courtroom while he questioned the girl.

"This is your father, don't be scared to say anything but the truth," the judge then advised the girl.

She then told him her father had raped her on two occasions. She said she could recall only the second of these vividly and that she had been sleeping while her mother was out begging when her father attacked her.

The father told the court there was "no way" he could have raped his daughter.

When the chief justice confronted him with the forensics tests, he said: "I have regular sexual activity with my wife, and she shares clothes with our daughter because they are the same size... Maybe that's how [my blood traces] got transferred to my daughter."

The mother was called back into the court and asked about the father's relationship with the girl.

"Does he usually beat her or treat her harshly?" asked the chief justice.

The mother said her husband was a respectful man and that she was shocked to hear the child's accusation.

"He is usually strict with her, he sometimes returns home late and wakes her up to cook for him," she explained. "I offer to do it instead, but he insists that he wants to teach her responsibility."

The case was adjourned until January 21.