Child rape accused acquitted for no evidence

Manama : A Gulf national accused in connection with raping a 14-year-old girl has been acquitted due to lack of evidence. 

The man reportedly had sex with the girl, also a Gulf citizen, upon her approval after she fled from her father and stepmother. 

However, the police arrested him and the Public Prosecution referred him for trial over accusations of raping a minor, as the local law deems having sex with a minor as a rape even if she accepted. 

The defendant’s lawyers, however, argued that their client wasn’t aware of her age, as she told him she was 18. 

According to court files, the pair met after the girl ran away from the hotel where she was staying with her family. 

“I saw her on the road at around 3am. She requested me to take her to her mother, but I convinced her to come with us to our apartment,” the defendant told the prosecutors. 

“I asked her about her age and she said she was 18. I offered to have sex with her and she accepted,” he added. 

Though the Public Prosecution had also accused the defendant of locking up the teenager, his lawyers explained that his friends visited him in his apartment several times, and the 14-year-old could have pleaded for help. 

It’s worth noting that the girl’s family had earlier waived their right to sue him after he offered himself to marry her, paying BD20000 in dowry.