An Emirati man - guilty of attempting to rape his sister-in-law - has been sentenced to three years in jail, Gulf News reported.
Despite pleading not guilty and refuting the victim's accusations in court, the 29-year-old man was convicted of sexual assault by the Dubai Court of First Instance on Tuesday.
The ruling is subject to appeal within 15 days.
The victim, a 29-year-old Emirati housewife, reported the incident at Al Barsha police station in July.
According to the victim, she was in her bedroom when her brother-in-law sneaked through a window into her bedroom at dawn and began talking about her problems with her sister (his wife).
He went on to push her on the bed, remove her clothes, force himself on her and attempt to molest her, before she succeeded in pushing him off. She then kicked him hard and locked herself in the bathroom.
She came out after a few minutes to find that her assaulter had left her house.
Her husband, who was in Thailand at the time of the assault, said she had called him after the attack.
While being interrogated by investigators, the convict admitted to climbing the victim's villa fence and sneaking into her bedroom, according to Khaleej Times.
However, in court, he pleaded not guilty and denied the woman's allegations. "This is not true, it didn't happen," he said in response to charges of trespassing and attempted rape.
A forensic report presented in court confirmed that the woman had suffered scratches and bruises during the assault.
The court thus found him guilty of attempted rape and sentenced him to three years in prison.
Not the first incident of its kind
Back in 2010, an Emirati man was convicted of raping his sister-in-law while his wife was performing Hajj in Mecca.
The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced him to one year in prison for non-consensual sex and 80 lashes for drinking alcohol, The National reported at the time.
This comes as rape is often committed by someone known to the victim. According to the United States' Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), 39% of rapes are committed by an acquaintance and 2.5% by a non-spouse relative.