DUBAI // A man sentenced to seven years in jail for rape had his term reduced to one year after the Appeals Court ruled the sex was consensual.
FM, 26, from Iran, was convicted by the Criminal Court of raping his niece's babysitter. But the higher court ruled that the babysitter consented to the act and changed his jail sentence to one year on a charge of sex-outside-of-wedlock.
It ordered him to be deported after serving the term. The babysitter, a Filipina, 29, claimed that she had been staying in the bedroom of her sponsor's children, 1 and 4, when the man knocked on the door drunk.
She said he forced his way into the bedroom before pushing her onto the bed, ripping off her clothes and raping her.
She said the children slept through the attack and that she waited until the next morning to head to the Philippines consulate to report what happened.
The consulate's staff took her to hospital then reported the incident to police.
Both FM and the babysitter face charges at the Misdemeanours Court of sex-outside-of-wedlock in regards to a separate incident.
salamir@thenational.ae
