Dubai salesman sentenced to life in prison for raping woman at knifepoint

The woman was attacked outside her house in Naif area

The man threatened to post a video of the woman online if she called the police.

A salesman was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday after the Dubai Criminal Court found him guilty of raping a woman at knifepoint.

The accused, 23, attacked his 39-year-old victim on the doorstep of her flat in Naif as she was returning from dropping her son off for his school bus.

He put a knife to her throat and dragged her to the bedroom, where he raped her. The attacker stole Dh200 from her purse and left the flat.

"He asked me to check if no one was outside the apartment so he could leave," the woman said.

As soon as her husband returned home from work, she told him what had happened and he called the police.

Two days after the attack on February 16 last year, police officers tracked down and arrested the attacker. He admitted to raping the woman and stealing from her.

"We found Dh135 with him, which he said remained from the amount he stole from his victim," a policeman said.

He was charged with rape and theft on July 26, 2020.

He was also charged with consuming alcohol without a licence. His case was heard in a closed courtroom.