An expatriate worker in his 60s was arrested and charged with sexually harassing a seven-year-old girl and threatening to kill her if she told anyone of the assault, Al-Watan newspaper reported.
A source at the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution (BIP) has divulged details of the case and said the girl was at a public market south of Jeddah when the man approached her.
“She was with her family but she went to a cafeteria to buy some food alone. The man working in the cafeteria is a resident in his 60s. He took advantage of the fact that she was alone and lured her into a back room. He tried to assault her and told her to not tell anyone of what just happened or else he will kill her,” the source said.
They added that the girl remained quiet for three days after the incident but eventually told her cousin. “The victim’s uncle reported the incident to the police and the man was arrested. The case was forwarded to BIP and the bureau listened to the testimony of the plaintiff and the statement of the defendant,” the source said.
According to the source, the girl told the BIP that she took SR5 from her cousin to go buy some food.
“The man at the cafeteria told her to wait a few minutes and she did. He then took her outside the cafeteria and closed it. He dragged her into a room next to the cafeteria and locked them inside it. She was screaming but he muted her with his hand and stripped her,” the source said.
According to the girl’s reports, she kept screaming, forcing the cafeteria worker to give her clothes back.
“He threatened her with murder if she told anyone. The girl was so frightened, she kept quiet about it until her cousin noticed her strange walk and bruises on her body. The victim had to tell her cousin what happened,” said the source.
The source also said the victim’s uncle took her to a clinic to check up on her and the clinic reported there were signs of sexual assault.
“The police arrested the man and found a piece of fabric with unintelligible marks on it. The suspect denied the little girl’s claims but the forensics reported the girl had bruises caused by external factors such as undergoing assault. The police forwarded the case to the Criminal Court and the piece of fabric as evidence,” the source said.
