A man who kidnapped and locked a boy in a mosque toilet before trying to rape him will spend two years in prison.
On March 5, the Sudanese defendant, 52, abducted the 14-year-old Pakistani boy after following him into the toilet at a mosque in Al Muraqqabat in Dubai.
The defendant, who works as a ship repairing technician, was seen following the boy by two teenagers.
"I saw him in his car talking to the boy then he got out and followed him towards the toilets. I suspected him so I followed and saw him go into a toilet along with the boy," said an 18-year-old Iranian student. The student told his friend to film him using his mobile phone as he knocked on the door.
"The defendant told us he was alone in the toilet but then he opened the door and ran out towards his car," said the student.
The Pakistani boy said the defendant gagged and dragged him into the toilet after he refused his offer to watch a film on his phone.
"As I stood opposite the sink, he covered my mouth with his hand and dragged me into the toilet, then pulled my trousers down but when the two men arrived, he opened the door and ran out," said the victim.
The boy's father arrived at the mosque minutes later and the two students told him what happened so he called police.
"My son was waiting for the driver to pick him up when he needed to use the toilet then he met the defendant who offered to show him a movie on his phone," said the father, 52.
It was not clear when the defendant was arrested but in Dubai Criminal Court he denied charges of kidnap, confinement and attempted sexual assault.
The court ordered the defendant be deported upon serving his jail sentence.