DUBAI // Two men kidnapped a boy from a football club before taking him to an under-construction church where they planned to rape him, a court heard today.
The men lured the boy from the club by saying they needed to talk to him before pushing him into their car and driving him to the building site.
Prosecutors told the Criminal Court that the men intended to rape the boy but decided not to when they noticed workers nearby. Instead they dropped the boy back at the club after he fooled them into thinking he would have sex with them if they let him play his football match.
During the match, on February 7 this year, the boy's coach noticed he was behaving strangely.
"The coach called me and said that the boy was tense, frightened, confused and was stopping in the middle of the game to look around," recalled JA, a management member from the football club.
The coach took the boy aside and spoke to him. The boy said he was being chased and pointed to the two men, who were in the stadium.
Police then arrested the two men - HE, 19, from Sudan, and his compatriot HM, 18.
During police interrogations the older man said he was watching the game because he knew the boy's brother and that he offered the boy a lift to brighten his mood.
In court, HE denied a charge of kidnap while HM denied aiding and abetting.
The case was adjourned to July 31 to appoint a lawyer for the defendants.
salamir@thenational.ae
