A 32-year-old Dubai-based Nigerian man was sentenced to six months in jail followed by deportation for kidnapping and raping a 33-year-old Ukrainian woman on Dec. 29, 2018.
The incident took place after the two met up in person at a café in Dubai Marina following their social media interaction. The assailant arrived to the meeting location in a taxi to pick up the victim back to his apartment. Upon their arrival, the woman> refused to go upstairs with him which resulted in him threatening to inject her with a syringe.
"I screamed but there was no one around to help me," the victim said during investigation.
Forcing her into his house and turning up the music to drown out any screams that may come out of the victim's mouth, he raped the woman at knifepoint.
According to Dubai's public prosecution records, he raped her again four times the next day before simply telling her to leave. The victim went directly to Al Barsha police station to report the incident at the time.
During his trial on Sunday, the defendant was given the right to appeal this ruling in two weeks' time.
The man is currently in jail, serving time for another rape case.
On Jan. 4, 2019, barely a week after his first recorded rape case, the same Nigerian man raped another victim, a 53-year-old Serbian woman, 20 times. He reportedly prevented her from eating or drinking anything other than dog food.
"He beat me with his hand and deprived me of food and water. He made me sit still under threats. He forced me to eat dogs' food," she told a prosecutor back then, according to Khaleej Times.
Had he been arrested the instance the Ukrainian woman reported him to the police, the second rape case wouldn't have happened. Had investigations not taken almost a year in the Ukrainian woman's case, another woman wouldn't have suffered, 20 times.
It appears the defendant, who reportedly worked as a jewelry designer in Dubai, lured in the Serbian woman through the same dating app and technique he had used on his previous victim.
"We met on Badoo and agreed to meet. He threatened me with a knife and took a taxi to his apartment. He took my passport, two mobile phones, shoes and my clothes and locked the door and raped me repeatedly nearly 20 times," the Serbian woman said in her testimony.
Upon returning to her own residence, the victim's daughter contacted the police. The latter stated they did not see any knife around the victim when watching CCTV footage from the day of the incident. In fact, they saw the man entering the building with the woman following behind, then saw them exiting together the next evening.
The bruises and DNA traces found on her body and the fact that a prior rape allegation was made against the man in question by a different woman - with no known relation between the Ukrainian and Serbian women - prompted investigators to continue with the case.
"We believe the defendant committed both rapes. The details and circumstances of the two crimes are very similar and the women do not have any relation nor are they acquainted," a prosecutor told the court.
On July 31, seven months later, the Nigerian man was sentenced to one year in prison followed by deportation under rape and assault charges.
According to Article 354 of UAE's Federal Penal Code, "whoever resorts to coercion in sexual intercourse with a female or homosexuality with a male, shall be punished by the death penalty."
While Article 355 states that "Attempt to commit any of the crimes provided for in the preceding Article shall be punishable by life imprisonment."
The Dubai Court of First Instance took almost a year to convict a repeat rapist of a crime he's already serving time for.
He was sentenced to one year in prison followed by deportation for the second rape case, while the first - which took longer to be investigated - landed him six months in jail along with deportation. And he was given the right to appeal the ruling.
Why must victims of rape go through hell twice before receiving justice?
Predators are not exempt from using social media, which means women must take more precautions when deciding to finally meet an online acquaintance face-to-face.
Some pointers to keep safe when meeting someone online:
- Look into the background of people you meet.
- Choose a place where you're comfortable.
- Bring a friend.
- Be vigilant at all times.
- Avoid drinking to much.
- Don't be afraid to just get up and leave.