Prison term increased for footballer who committed immoral acts with boy, 12

Sportsman who used his fame to exploit child will serve 3 years.

Abu Dhabi // An Emirati footballer who lured a 12-year-old boy into committing immoral acts has had his jail term extended.

The footballer, who was condemned for using his fame to lead the boy astray, will now serve three years in prison instead of two.

The boy said he had met the man on Twitter, was given his BlackBerry messaging code and started to exchange messages with him.

His attacker had denied the accusations, confessing only to exchanging messages.

The boy’s family said that they had noticed a change in his behaviour following the incident.

The Court of First Instance had sentenced the footballer to two years in jail but he and Public Prosecution had appealed against the decision.

The Court of Appeal increased the jail term to three years, saying the athlete had exploited the young boy’s admiration for him.

Abu Dhabi Judicial Department urged parents and guardians to supervise the use of social media by children.

It also reminded the authorities of their responsibility in preventing such incidents.