Man jailed for molesting and blackmailing teenage boy

The defendant denied charges in court in July but was convicted and sentenced to two years in jail

A man who posed as a woman on social media and solicited explicit images from a teenage boy, who he then blackmailed and sexually assaulted, was jailed for two years on Sunday.
Dubai Criminal Court heard that the 23-year-old man introduced himself as Hamda to the 16-year-old Emirati on Facebook Messenger four years ago.
The boy said they shared images and later Hamda said 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 had not deleted the images and would use them to defame the boy 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 last July, the defendant denied charges of sexual assault and issuing threats, however, he was convicted and sentenced to two years in jail.