DUBAI // A school cleaner who was jailed for one year for molesting six pupils has had his prison term upheld by the Dubai Court of Appeal.
H A, 32, a Bangladeshi, was arrested after a lecture by a policeman about sexual harassment was held at the boys’ primary school in Hatta.
The pupils, who were 6, 7 and 8 years old, approached the officer and said they had been molested by the school’s cleaner.
“We targeted second-graders at the school with the lecture called ‘When to Say No’ and spoke about what to do if one is subjected to molestation,” said the policeman, K A, 38, a Yemeni.
“At the end of the lecture I opened the floor for discussion and that was when three students told me they had been molested by the cleaner, who would open the toilet door on them and touch them.”
The officer informed the school administration after the lecture on May 8 this year.
K A also visited the school toilets and found that each cubicle could be opened with a coin from outside.
The policeman then reported the findings to Hatta police station before returning to the school with a team to investigate.
The children said there were not the only victims, as the cleaner had molested other boys.
“The deputy principal said that one of the teachers at the school had always had suspicions about the cleaner,” testified K A.
H A was arrested and charged with four counts of molestation. He confessed to the police that he had been touching children, but he said it was a joke.
Police obtained approval to collect surveillance footage from the toilets, but then found that the cameras were out of order.
Egyptian teacher M M, 53, told the court that he had seen the cleaner touching a boy, but the cleaner said it was only a joke.
“I didn’t know about his behaviour because none of the students complained,” said M M.
The teacher added that about 10 days before the lecture, he saw the cleaner talking to three boys after school hours.
“Most of the students had gone but he was there talking to three. I suspected him even more,” the teacher said.
He told the deputy principal of his suspicions, and he said he would place the cleaner under close observation.
Records show that H A molested the pupils in the toilets, hallways and the playground.
“He confessed to me that the last time he had touched a student was on the same day of the lecture but he said it was a joke and he did not mean to molest them,” testified policeman H J, 31, who was part of the investigative team.
“This incident caused anger among Hatta residents, mainly the students’ parents.”
The defendant denied the charges in court but was convicted and jailed for a year.
At the Court of Appeal on Sunday, a deportation order was also added to his sentence.
salamir@thenational.ae