Dubai: An uncle failed to convince a court that he did not rape his 13-year-old niece and will have to spend five years behind prison bars.

The Dubai Appeal Court on Wednesday rejected the appeal lodged by the 23-year-old Emirati uncle, M.Y., who was found guilty of having sex with his underage niece twice — when she was nine and 13.

'Consensual'

"The court has dismissed M.Y.'s appeal and upheld the primary judgment, five years in jail," said Presiding Judge Moustafa Al Shennawi upon pronouncing the verdict in courtroom 20.

When the defendant appeared before the appellate court, he denied the rape accusations and claimed that he had ‘consensual sex with her after she asked him to do so'.

Prosecutors at the Family and Juveniles Prosecution said M.Y., who underwent psychoanalysis, has a psychopathic aggressive character and enjoyed having incestuous sex with his niece.

According to the verdict sheet, the court was convinced based on prosecution witnesses' statements and the evidence leveled against M.Y. that he had sex with his underage niece against her will.

"Despite his claim that she was the one who asked him to have consensual sex with her at the age of 13 and the fact that she waived her rights, but the court is convinced that the rape took place," read the verdict sheet.

Prosecutors said M.Y. committed his crimes between 2007 and May 2011.

'Confession'

A Omani policeman said M.Y. admitted that he had sex with his niece against her will when she was nine.

"Four years later, he claimed, that she asked him to have consensual sex with her… he confessed that he did," said the policeman.

Dubai Police's Department of criminology and forensic evidence said the medical findings did not rule out the possibility that the girl was subject to bizarre sex. The report did not contradict the niece's statement.

The psychoanalysis report said: "M.Y. enjoys a psychopathic hostile character… According to scientific studies and research, such a person takes pleasure in raping children and causing them pain and suffering. The reasons behind having such a character could have been because the suspect lacked any religious dedication or suffered abusive and violent parents… or due to alcoholism or he might have been sexually abused or molested when he was a child."

The girl claimed to prosecutors that her uncle had sex with her. Prosecution records did not detail whether she specified in her statement whether she had been raped or not.

Wednesday's judgment remains subject to appeal before the Cassation Court within 30 days.