ABU DHABI // A janitor who was sentenced to death for raping a seven-year-old girl in a school kitchen will now serve 10 years in jail for sexual assault.
The Cassation Court on Tuesday cleared IK, from India, of raping the girl, stating that there was enough doubt to dismiss the original verdict.
He had been found guilty of rape by both the Criminal and Appeals courts and sentenced to death. The Court of Cassation, however, overturned that verdict “because criminal verdicts must be based on confirmation and belief and not doubt and assumptions”.
“So if the court has doubt, it is enough to rule with acquittal based on that doubt alone,” the Cassation Court said.
IK’s lawyer and teachers at the school had long argued for his innocence. He said that DNA results did not match and added IK was a scapegoat for the crime.
hdajani@thenational.ae
