Court of Appeal puts Kuwaiti man behind bars for molesting students

The Second Circuit of the Court of Appeal, presided over by Counselor Nasr Salem Al-Haid has upheld a five-year prison sentence with hard labor against a Kuwaiti citizen found guilty of repeatedly harassing and molesting female high school students.

The Public Prosecution charged the defendant with indecent assault, including touching parts of a female victim’s body, making inappropriate physical contact, and inciting her to engage in immoral behavior.

The case came to light after the suspect harassed a student shortly after she left her school and entered a cooperative society branch, reports Al-Jarida daily.

Initially, the victim believed the contact was accidental, but the accused later returned and repeated the act, escalating to flirtatious and suggestive behavior, even coaxed her to add him on Snapchat.

Disturbed by the incident, the victim informed her father, who immediately filed a police report. Surveillance footage from the cooperative society branch showed the accused loitering outside the premises, waiting specifically for female students in school uniforms to follow them inside and carry out similar acts.

The authorities set up an ambush, resulting in the arrest of the suspect. During interrogation and when confronted with the surveillance footage, the defendant confessed to his crimes, saying he took pleasure in harassing high school girls in school uniforms.

The Criminal Court had earlier sentenced the defendant to five years in prison with hard labor, rejecting motions for a stay of execution. The Court of Appeal later upheld the verdict, finding that the initial ruling was legally sound and that the defense arguments lacked merit.