Men deny abusing 13-year-old runaway girl

Two men sexually abused a 13-year-old girl who had run away from her parents, prosecutors said.

DUBAI // Two men denied abusing a 13-year-old girl and forcing her to have sex with them after she fled her parents' house, a Dubai court heard this morning.

The defendant KM, 20, an Emirati student, told the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance that he did not make the girl lose her virginity. However, he admitted that he flirted with the victim and spent intimate time with her, according to prosecutors.

The other defendant SM, 23, also an Emirati, denied the charges and said that he did not have any kind of relationship with the victim.

However, prosecutors say both men had sex with the minor.

Prosecutors said the girl, MA, was a few months short of 14 years old when the incident happened in March of last year. MA told prosecutors in her testimony that after she ran away from her parents' house, SM contacted her, and she met with him in Jumeirah. She said he abused her in his car, and she was unable to resist him because she was scared of him, according to prosecutors.

The victim also said that SM handed her over to his friend, KM, who took her to his house, where he also abused her, according to prosecutors. Then, the girl said, KM took her to a hotel, where both defendants abused her again, according to prosecutors.

The Dubai Police forensics report indicated that DNA traces found on the girl belonged to the defendants.

The court scheduled the next hearing for May 11.