Three men cleared of school bus attack

A Dubai court acquits three men of raping a four-year-old girl on a school bus, ruling that there was no evidence the girl was sexually assaulted.

DUBAI // A court yesterday cleared three men of sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl on a school bus, and ordered their immediate release from prison.

The bus driver and two staff - JT, 43; MP, 44; and FS, 38, all from India - had been accused of molesting the girl in a deserted car park in November last year.

The Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance found yesterday that there was no physical evidence that any attack had taken place, and that one of the accused men was not even on the bus at the time.

It described the evidence of the girl's mother as speculative and inaccurate, and ruled the men's confessions illegal because they were contradictory and had been obtained in the absence of a translator.

The court also heard defence evidence that the bus could not have been where prosecutors said it was when the alleged attack happened.

Prosecutors said they would appeal against the verdict "within the given legal period", which is 15 days.

The child's father said he was disappointed by the verdict.

"I am happy to hear they plan to appeal," he said. "However, at this point, I am not hopeful that the higher court will have a different perspective on the case.

"We will co-operate with the prosecution in every way since it is for my daughter, but I am unable to gather the courage to fight this case and go through this again."

He said his wife and children were shaken by the incident and planned to move to India.

"We will wait and watch as to how the case at the higher court will proceed. My wife fears for our child's safety and wants to move to Mumbai."

“We will take a decision on when to move based on the court proceedings,” the father said. He admitted that a two-month delay in the family reporting the alleged attack had weakened the prosecution’s case.

The girl has not been to school for five months. Her father said the case had led to authorities increasing safety on school buses, which he said was a positive sign.

After the verdict a spokesman for the school said: “The GPS records show there was no opportunity for a crime to have been committed during the time and in the location that was alleged.

“These men are family men, fathers with young children, loving husbands. We would caution against people conducting trials by media and remember that all accused are innocent unless proven guilty.”

Prosecutors had alleged that the accused men called the girl’s mother on the day of the incident and told her not to worry if the bus was late. They alleged that the men dropped off all the other pupils on the bus, then drove it to an empty car park and sexually assaulted the child.

The girl’s mother said she found blood spots on the child’s skirt and suspected abuse. She took the girl to two doctors, who were not identified in court records. The doctors said the girl had been molested.

The family said they took the girl to a clinic for an examination and were told by the clinic to go to the police, but they did not immediately do so.

A parent at the school said yesterday that the acquittal had left many unanswered questions.

"I really do not know what to believe any more. Young children are vulnerable, and both parents and the schools should be more vigilant," the parent said.

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* With additional reporting by Afshan Ahmed