Father charged with molesting daughters
A Lebanese father has been charged with molesting his four daughters, aged between seven and 14.
The case was heard by the Sharjah Shariah Court on Tuesday.
His Lebanese wife who lived in Sharjah filed a complaint at the Al Gharb police station in February, 2007, saying that her husband had been molesting her daughters. He had been molesting his eldest daughter for the past seven years, she said.
She came to know of it only when the 14-year-old narrated her ordeals to her. The daughter told her she had been scared to tell her about it but finally decided to do so after she watched a TV programme highlighting a similar issue and also after she discovered that the father was also molesting her sisters.
The mother told the police that she could not believe it at first because she lived a happy life with her husband, though he was unemployed. He usually sat at home with the daughters.
When the mother enquired with the other daughters, they also narrated similar incidents.
The mother said that initially she could not believe what she had heard from her daughters although she had filed a police complaint but was convinced after the man called her up from detention and apologised for his actions promising not to repeat them.
The apology came after the police detained him following her complaint. He advised her not to go ahead with the case because it would affect the daughters’ reputation.
At the first hearing on December 18 last year, the father pleaded not guilty and said that he had no relation with his wife and daughters following a dispute and that he had refused to renew their passports.
However, the girls had testified before the Public Prosecution that they had been molested repeatedly by the father.
The advocate of the mother, Issa bin Haider, told Khaleej Times that such cases were very rare in the UAE community. He said the father had denied the accusation, saying the woman had cooked up the story because she had a dispute with him.
Haider said such cases did not usually come before the courts because most families feared loss of reputation and family break-up.
He said if found guilty of incest, the father could be sentenced to three years to a life term in jail followed by deportation. Also, the man risked forfeiture of his paternal right to custody of his daughters, the lawyer said. The hearing will continue. Source
The case was heard by the Sharjah Shariah Court on Tuesday.
His Lebanese wife who lived in Sharjah filed a complaint at the Al Gharb police station in February, 2007, saying that her husband had been molesting her daughters. He had been molesting his eldest daughter for the past seven years, she said.
She came to know of it only when the 14-year-old narrated her ordeals to her. The daughter told her she had been scared to tell her about it but finally decided to do so after she watched a TV programme highlighting a similar issue and also after she discovered that the father was also molesting her sisters.
The mother told the police that she could not believe it at first because she lived a happy life with her husband, though he was unemployed. He usually sat at home with the daughters.
When the mother enquired with the other daughters, they also narrated similar incidents.
The mother said that initially she could not believe what she had heard from her daughters although she had filed a police complaint but was convinced after the man called her up from detention and apologised for his actions promising not to repeat them.
The apology came after the police detained him following her complaint. He advised her not to go ahead with the case because it would affect the daughters’ reputation.
At the first hearing on December 18 last year, the father pleaded not guilty and said that he had no relation with his wife and daughters following a dispute and that he had refused to renew their passports.
However, the girls had testified before the Public Prosecution that they had been molested repeatedly by the father.
The advocate of the mother, Issa bin Haider, told Khaleej Times that such cases were very rare in the UAE community. He said the father had denied the accusation, saying the woman had cooked up the story because she had a dispute with him.
Haider said such cases did not usually come before the courts because most families feared loss of reputation and family break-up.
He said if found guilty of incest, the father could be sentenced to three years to a life term in jail followed by deportation. Also, the man risked forfeiture of his paternal right to custody of his daughters, the lawyer said. The hearing will continue. Source
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