Death sentence upheld for janitor convicted of schoolgirl rape in UAE

ABU DHABI // A janitor sentenced to death for raping a seven-year-old schoolgirl had his sentence upheld by the Appeals Court on Sunday.

I K, 56, from India, was found guilty of raping the Emirati in a kitchen of a private school.

Prosecutors had argued that the girl had named I K as her attacker.

On the day of the incident, a teacher had asked the youngster to take some papers to the school administration.

I K saw the girl and pulled her into a kitchen and raped her. The attack was discovered by the child’s aunt when she found blood on her clothes.

The defence argued that there was no forensic evidence to suggest that I K had committed the rape and, based on the testimonies of teachers at the school, it was impossible for the rape to have taken place in the kitchen situated in the school’s administration without anyone noticing.

The case will be referred to the Court of Cassation to finalise the verdict.