Man charged with attack on teenager

DUBAI // A hotel worker has been charged with raping a 14-year-old girl last year. A source close to the case said the Filipino suspect, identified as RA, 27, was accused of raping a Filipina, AO, inside staff accommodation last September. The girl gave birth to a baby boy in May. She made the rape allegation against RA this month. RA, who is in jail, denies the charge. He claimed the encounter was consensual, the source said.

The Dubai Public Prosecution Department is investigating the case "to establish whether or not the victim was a minor at the time of the incident", the source said. The girl told prosecutors that the rape occurred on Sep 21, four days before her 14th birthday. DNA tests will determine whether the suspect is the father of her baby. On Sep 20 last year, the girl had been chatting on the internet with a male friend, identified as G. He had a friend named RA, who asked for the girl's e-mail address. The girl allowed it to be passed on, and she and RA began emailing each other. RA said it was his birthday the next day and invited her to celebrate it, the source said.

At 2pm on Sep 21, the girl and G went to RA's room in staff accommodation behind a hotel, the source said. "The girl told the public prosecution that RA had offered her two glasses of juice," said the source. "She claimed she didn't know the drinks contained liquor, which made her dizzy." G and RA's cousin left the room to smoke and she was alone with the suspect. The girl claimed she fell asleep and, when she woke up before 6pm, realised that RA had forced himself on her. She left with G and took a taxi home, the source said.

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