Marcus Fakana gets prison sentence in Dubai.

Ffs he is a normal kid they were a few months apart in age, he was doing what teenagers do. I feel desperately sorry for him and think the behaviour of the mother of the girl was abhorrent and most likely racist

I would prefer not to holiday in a place of many laws and behaviours I can't support. However, I do feel great sympathy for the parents of Marcus Fakana- and also for him.

None-the-less there might well be another side to this.

The mother reported the man (so called both here and over there) for having sex with her child (so called over there and here despite the different age of consent).

Is this vindictive? She clearly felt her seventeen year old had been mistreated. We don't know what the balance of power looked like or the sense and maturity of the girl. Her call on the law might have been justified even if it wasn't our law.

That he was only just an adult and the girl only just not an adult doesn't change the law but makes it all seem less clear-cut to us.

If a 15 year old has sex with a 16 year in the UK neither will be prosecuted.

Maybe the police need additional funding so that they have sufficient police officers. Maybe they need to not be told to treat everyone equally. Yes you diverted the thread by saying we would be better off if we enforced laws more. Now you want to pick and choose which ones?

Poor bugger. Yes it's their law but two people of 17/18 shouldn't be illegal really.

I totally agree. Even if you take that “well, that’s the consequence, that is the law there and he should have followed it” argument, does a year in prison sound like a fair and proportionate punishment? For an 18 year old who had consensual sex with a 17 year old (who has since turned 18 because they are only a few months difference in age)??

Yes, it’s the law there, and yes, he broke it - but that doesn’t mean we can’t call out that this all seems deeply unfair and feel truly sorry for him. Laws and sentences are man-made, not innate. Respectfully, we can call out what feels unfair and disproportionate whether it’s our own culture or another. I struggle to believe that the posters saying it’s fair would be taking the same view if it were their DS in that situation.

And shame on the mother who reported it.

There is so much rigidity of thought here that it stuns me. The PP who says he could have refused to go - he was on a family holiday. Of course he wouldn't have done that. Also, it's almost as if some of the posters on here were born middle aged and sitting on their high horses. Teens do shit like this - it's part of their boundary testing and completely normal. It means they make stupid decisions and take risks. That's what's contributed to this. The way some people are writing on this thread makes him out to be some some predatory sex offender. There's context and nuance here.

The mother of the girl is the true villain in this story. Controlling, calculating and probably deeply racist too.

I hope when he finally gets out he's OK and that the first thing that happens is that him and the girl get back together and live happily ever after. That will teach her mum a thing or two.

Apparently she did not think that at all. She was very strict and was opposed to her daughter sneaking around with boys (and I think the fact the boy is black made things a million times worse in the mothers eyes.)

That said as much as my heart breaks for this poor young lad - the Dubai authorities hands are tied.

They could not ignore the law being broken on their territory even if all involved are foreigners. However I think they also are keenly aware that age of consent laws are meant to protect the very young and powerful from actual predators not consensual relationships between teens with a few months apart.

And the only reason any action was taken us because the girl happens to have a bigoted bitter witch for a mother.

And I think the sentence is meant to reflect that. That he received one year when he could have received 20 shows that even the Dubai authorities realise it’s a stupid case.

I haven't followed the story closely, but I didn't read anything that suggested it wasn't fully consensual?
But maybe the mother felt that her daughter was coerced or manupulated into it?

FCDO travel advice is cristal clear on this. If you have sex with someone aged under 18 you will be prosecuted.

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/united-arab-emirates/safety-and-security

What it has 'to do with it' is the profoundly different values that the UK has compared to this country. Can you not see that people are sickened by these Draconian laws and the plight that awaits this young person. So it has everything to do with it as it is morally shocking when considered alongside the UK values.

He broke the law....now he's got to do the time. Simple. It's always been the way over there. I lived there as a young child in the 70's and I was always told don't argue with the police

Yep, that's the first thing teenagers do when travelling for a holiday.

And you are off the mark about the USA too - the situation is far more complicated because BOTH the teenagers would have been under the age of consent. Many sates have what are called "Romeo and Juliet" laws which state that if the age difference in small (as in this case) they will not prosecute (in New York State for example, it is not a felony if both aprties are over 13 years old AND there is no more than 4 years age difference); and in a case like this they would technically have to prosecute them both under felony law if there were no other exceptions! If that isn't confusing enough, some states have laws that directly conflict with the national law. But no - he wouldn't have been "done" in the USA.

And her parents were not only twats, but if they wanted to exercise such control over their daughter they perhaps should have known where she was at all times.

I didnt say WHICH laws... but I think the slippery slope happened in the UK a long time ago.. eg the reclassification of drugs because the system couldnt cope with all the possible prosecutions.... now the non attendance of police officers at the scene of break-ins... etc etc

Sorry.. dont want to divert this thread...

I’m not sure an 18 year old on holiday with his mum and dad would have realised the draconian consequences - but in future it’s probably best if people avoid Dubai.

Dubai is a dreadful country. Look at their treatment of migrant workers.

Their laws are repressive and they have the death penalty. I can't imagine why anyone would want to live there.

I mean it was recklessness or naivety. I understand your point, that he was only just over the threshold of adulthood and that the ramifications could have been far less severe had he been a few months younger. But that's just how things go in a country that isn't swayed by appeals to sympathy.

His parents must be beside themselves. What a lot of distress as a result of not opting for a holiday destination with more familiar laws and customs.

Oh come on. He was apparently still at school!

Well quite. I wouldn’t travel to any of the similar countries. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/mexican-woman-reported-sexual-assault-qatar-faces-jail-100-lashes-rcna17217

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_of_Alexandre_Robert

Where he is from has nothing to do with it, he broke the laws of the country he was visiting. As an adult he could have refused to visit Dubai.

Like that Olympian who got sent back to his country and released within a few months for sexually grooming and assaulting a 12/13 year old

Their country their laws. You have to obey the laws of the country you are visiting. He is an adult and therefore understands that you can't just do as you please.

I hope he survives the prison sentence. I hope he doesn't get assaulted or worse.

What? Sorry? So there we go again another example of their ambiguous laws. People just don't go, don't risk it.