Picture for illustrative purposes only. ARCHIVE

A criminal court in the UAE has sentenced a man to more than 20 years in jail for raping and sexually abusing a boy. The court also fined him Dh200,000 and found him guilty of rape and sexual abuse. Details about the identities of the convict and victims have been withheld for privacy. The case in Kalba unraveled after the boy’s mother discovered that the man had been sexually abusing her son. The woman also found out that the man raped her son “several times” since the boy was 11 years old. The man is a relative of the boy’s mother. Investigations revealed that the accused had threatened the victim against reporting the repeated rape and abuse. “It also revealed that the accused was using drugs and psychotropic substances,” according to the UAE Public Prosecution. The UAE has very strict laws against rape, with punishment of life imprisonment, which can also be extended to capital punishment if the victim is a minor. Rape is punishable with imprisonment of between five years and 20 years in jail. “The penalty will rise to a prison term of no less than ten years and not exceeding 25 years if the victim is aged under 18, disabled or otherwise rendered in a condition unable to offer resistance. Also, the more severe penalty applies if the crime takes place in a place of work, study, shelter or care,” according to UAE laws. ICA/Expat Media
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