Teacher cleared of molesting four schoolgirls

Court finds accusations unfounded

Dubai: A teacher was acquitted on Wednesday of molesting four sisters and threatening to chop them up and feed them to dogs after a court concluded that the accusations were baseless and unfounded.

The Dubai Court of First Instance yesterday cleared the 43-year-old Egyptian private teacher of sexually assaulting and molesting the four schoolgirls, aged between 7 and 11, after it decided that the girls' statements were contradictory and uncorroborated.

‘Illogical'

"The jury concluded that the four Palestinian sisters' statements were illogical and unreasonable. The statements were contradictory beyond any doubt," read the sheet of the primary verdict which Presiding Judge Fahmi Mounir Fahmi pronounced yesterday.

The verdict continued: "Hence, considering that a suspect is innocent until proven guilty, it is the Court's obligation to acquit the suspect, A.A., of any wrongdoing. Prosecutors' evidence which were submitted against the suspect, were unsubstantiated and doubtful".

When the suspect appeared before the court, he strongly refuted what he described as malicious and groundless accusations. He pleaded not guilty and firmly denied the accusations.

According to the charge sheet, prosecutors said A.A. sexually molested and assaulted each of the four sisters while giving them private lessons.

He was additionally charged with threatening to chop up the schoolgirls and feed their bodies to dogs.

Prosecutors said he threatened the girls so they would not inform their parents that he had reportedly molested them.

Advocate Badr Abdullah Khamis, who defended A.A., argued that his client did not molest or even touch the schoolgirls during any private tutoring session.

Malicious

"The girls gave inconsistent statements. This whole case was fabricated and lodged maliciously against A.A.," argued Khamis.

"The case was malevolently lodged against him because the family owed him money which he never collected. Prosecutors referred him to court without substantiating the evidence or validating the girls' statements and accusation."

"The technical evidence contradicted the verbal one. The forensic doctors who examined the girls testified before prosecutors that no signs of forced intercourse or assault were found," argued Khamis.