A Saudi air force sergeant is facing a host of charges after allegedly raping a 13-year-old boy in a Las Vegas hotel room on New Year’s Eve.
The teen, whose name is being kept confidential, claims he was staying at Circus Circus on vacation when he was approached by Saudi airman Mazen Alotaibi, who forced him into his hotel room and sexually assaulted him After escaping, the boy met up with a friend at a doughnut shop and then notified authorities.
Alotaibi (right) was then charged with two counts of sexual assault with a minor, two counts of lewdness with a child under the age of 14, burglary, coercion and first-degree kidnapping.
The 23-year-old Saui “repeatedly changed his story” to police, according to the Las Vegas Sun, “but then allegedly admitted to performing two sexual acts on the boy, although he called one incident an accident.”
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Do we even want to know how rape can be accidental?
As if his client’s heinous deeds weren’t despicable enough, Alotaibi’s lawyer tried to paint the victim as some kind of Las Vegas Lolita. “This teenage kid was trying to buy marijuana off our client,” attorney Don Chairez told the judge. “We’re not talking about an innocent kid walking around the casino going to Krispy Kreme doughnuts.”
Chairez also claimed the boy offered to perform sex acts—and that Alotaibi was drunk at the time and had just come back from a strip club.
We know Saudi Arabia’s legal code is different, but are these supposed to be mitigating circumstances?
Fortunately, the judge wasn’t having it and set bail for $1.22 million, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for January 31. If convicted, Alotaibi faces up to 35 years to life in prison.
2eo
If he’s guilty he should never see the daylight until the day he dies.
Gigi Gee
What a pig. In Saudi Arabia he’d be sentenced to death.
Taliaferro
“We’re not talking about an innocent kid walking around the casino going to Krispy Kreme doughnuts.”
So its all right to rape someone who is not totally innocent? In whose universe?
Merv
Reading between the lines, it sounds like the boy might have been a hustler. Doesn’t mean he wasn’t raped, though, and I don’t think it’s going to have much effect on the case.
Bob LaBlah
@Merv: It seems you read correctly. There has been another report on this case that states that the “kid” was trying to buy pot and offered sex in exchange for the pot.
FStratford
hmmm good to see that none of you lot are saying “He’s cute I’d do him” again.
Are Queerty’s readers’ morals improving? Miracles do happen.
MickeyP.
Regardless if this boy was wanting pot,this is a full grown man we’re talking about! The boy is 13! The one question I have is where were his parents during all this? No mention of them,just that he told a friend. This guy is a pedophile,pure & simple. I hope they throw the book at him.
Merv
@MickeyP.: No mention of parents, which makes it very suspicious. It sounds like the kid was there on his own “business trip.” The article says he was a guest at the hotel, but I’m not sure how a 13 year old checks into a hotel alone. I suspect there was a pimp nearby (the friend?), or the hotel is turning a blind eye.
hf2hvit
@MickeyP.: “This guy is a pedophile,pure & simple”
Pure and simply, you are WRONG. He may be a hebophile but that doesn’t make him a pedophile. Try looking up the definition.
Gigi Gee
@Merv: “I suspect there was a pimp nearby…” A poorly written article, short on details and no mention of parents, thus the kid must have been a hustler. And probably “asked for it,” right? Wow. Why don’t we wait until we have all the details before we jump to conclusions.
Mr. Enemabag Jones
@Gigi Gee:
I don’t think Merv is asking any foolish questions. What parent lets a 13 year roam a hotel unattended? Why did the kid go to a doughnut shop to meet up with a friend, rather than seek out his parents? Were they gambling; or drunk off their asses? Or are they junkies letting their son turn tricks for pot? Or did they just not exist?
This isn’t blaming the victim, it’s asking where the hell were mom and dad? And Vegas is very well known for prostitution, legal age, and underage. This could have been a “date” gone wrong. I’m sure it will all come out in the trial, but I’m also sure the accused will be painted as a gay pervert child molester.
litper
@Gigi Gee: actually in Saudi Arabia if would be the boy who would face the charges!
alex
@Gigi Gee: Hey Gigi Gee, it’s called critical thinking. Every story we read has unsaid pieces that we have to piece together ourselves. Clearly there are a lot of those pieces in this story.
Stache1
This airman should be glad it happened here and not in Saudi Arabia. Lets see….being gay and raping a 13 yo boy. Yeah, over there that would give you 2 options. The end of a rope or a sword to the head. Saudis are just so fucked up anyways. It’s like the the priests and the Catholic Church. All that sexual repression makes people do some crazy ass things.
hamoboy
@Stache1: Remember that in Saudi Arabia and many other countries, it’s not the top that gets vilified but the bottom. In Saudi Arabia the “I was drunk, he was an evil gay hussy” defense would have got him off with a slap on the wrist while the boy would have gotten the death penalty (or maybe some sort of re-education punishment since he’s so young).
TrekBear
Even if the kid was soliciting drugs or sex, the adult man is responsible for his actions. Should the evidence show that the boy was selling himself, then and only then bring him up on charges.
Gigi Gee
@alex: “I suspect there was a pimp nearby…” That’s not critical thinking, it’s conjecture.
balehead
sounds like a hustla….
Jack
Its just wrong on so many levels. The adult is the responsible person, if the child is a hustler (really?), he should be dealt with by his parents.
midtowner
The Las Vegas Sun wrote….
“Police say a 13-year-old boy visiting with his family from out of town reported that Alotaibi pulled him into a sixth-floor room at the Circus Circus hotel on the Las Vegas Strip and sexually assaulted him.”
boy visiting with his family from out of town at Circus Circus.
Right or wrong, it would not be uncommon for a 13 year old kid to walk around Circus Circus alone while his parents are in their room or elsewhere in the hotel.
The police said he was from out of town with family.
It sounds to me that the Saudi guy and or his lawyer made up the sex for pot story as an excuse for the rape.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/jan/17/nv-saudi-sergeant-rape-charge/
Stache1
@midtowner: Thanks for clearing that up. Yeah, that makes sense. They have to destroy the kids character since it’s the only thing they’ve got.
Alfonzo
@Stache1: It should also be mentioned that its not uncommon for young people to be kidnapped and forced into the sex trade.
Yes, this does happen in this day and age in the United States. So even if he was a prostitute, it doesn’t mean that he lacks character or went into the trade the choice.
I just thought I should bring this up because it hadn’t been mentioned.