Man 'posed as woman online to lure teenage boy into sex bribe'

National Service recruit is accused of pretending to be woman to befriend young boy on social media and use intimate photos of him in sex ploy.

A 23-year-old National Service recruit posed as a woman online to obtain intimate pictures of a teenage boy so he could bribe him into having sex, Dubai Criminal Court has heard.

The man introduced himself as Hamda to the 16-year-old Emirati on Facebook Messenger four years ago, the boy told prosecutors.

He said they shared images and later Hamda started saying that if he didn’t send pictures of a sexual nature of himself, she would tell her brother that he was harassing her.

“I sent her some of the pictures she requested then later the defendant contacted me as himself and told me he knew about the pictures I was sharing with Hamda and that he could help me obtain her phone in return for Dh7,000,” said the teenager.

Later, the Emirati defendant contacted the boy again and said he had paid Hamda the amount and took her phone then damaged it after deleting the pictures.

“Following this, we became friends and he and I often went out together,” said the teenager.

Last year, he said he received a call from the defendant telling him he did not delete the images and they are still in his possession and that he would use them to defame him if he did not have sex with him.

The two met and, while in the defendant’s car, the teenager said he was sexually assaulted.

Court records did not show who reported the incident to police.

In court, the defendant denied charges of sexual assault and issuing threats.

The next hearing will be on August 22.