The boy of Arab origin identified the 36-year-old man who was arrested in connection with similar sexual assaults as his attacker. The man was pointed out in an identification parade conducted by police in the city’s Aziziyah district.
The victim, who is living with his family in the Aziziyah district, said he was lured by the accused to the roof of a residential building and raped about two and a half years ago.
Capt. Yousuf Al-Mutawwa, head of the investigation team at the Shamaliya police station, said his team managed to collect evidence that proved the man had raped seven boys. The evidence included DNA samples that matched the accused and the victims as well as footage from CCTV cameras.
Shamaliya police have sent circulars to all other stations in the city asking them to provide details about any pending cases involving the kidnapping and raping of boys.
The circular also said the man could be taken to identification parades in connection with unsolved cases.
A large number of citizens, accompanied by children who were alleged victims of rape by unidentified attackers, thronged Al-Shamaliya police station on Tuesday to see if they could identify the arrested man as the one responsible for carrying out the assaults.
One of the victims who was under 10 told the newspaper that a man caught him unawares after asking him something while they were standing in front of a residential building.
“When I was about to answer him, he grabbed me and took me to the roof of the building. He took out his knife and threatened to kill me if I screamed out for help. After hurting me, he put the knife on my body and threatened me that I would be finished if I spoke about it to anyone else,” the boy said.
The 36-year-old Saudi was arrested two months ago after he was accused of kidnapping and raping a nine-year-old boy from Al-Harazat district in east Jeddah. The DNA tests proved that the accused was involved in at least seven rape cases.
A number of victims have already identified him. He was identified with the help of pictures from surveillance cameras installed at a commercial center.
Jeddah police were successful in capturing the man after continuous search operations following a kidnap and rape incident in Al-Salama district one and a half years ago. A similar incident was reported in Aziziyah district a few months later.
There were also similar cases registered at police stations in Al-Safa and Al-Rehab districts.
