DUBAI // A barber who sexually assaulted a young girl more than once, using cats to lure her to a quiet location, will spend a year in jail after he was sentenced at Dubai Criminal Court.
The Pakistani, 30, first abused the girl, 9, on May 11 last year after seeing her playing with a cat near her home in Deira.
The Indian girl said that the barber held her hand and told her he was taking her to a place where there were many cats.
“He took me to an under-construction place where there were cats and he was still holding my hand,” she said.
He touched her while she was watching the cats but let her go when her brother, who was playing in the neighbourhood, arrived.
The girl said that three days later, she was outside playing with other children when the man approached and hugged her.
“Then he disappeared for a while and was not seen in the area,” said the girl, who told her mother.
A few days later her mother saw him standing opposite her building and called police, who arrested him.
The man told prosecutors he had seen the girl but he denied molesting her. He also denied a sexual assault charge in court and asked to be acquitted.
But he was found guilty and will be deported after serving his one-year jail term.
salamir@thenational.ae
