British teenager, Marcus Fakana, has been jailed for one year in Dubai for having sex with a 17-year-old girl during a holiday romance.

He was given the heart breaking news by his lawyer following a brief trial, with the verdict having left his family 'devastated', after he was potentially looking at up to 20 years in prison.

Marcus was with his family on holiday when he met his holiday romance, and had sex with the 17-year-old girl also from London. The Tottenham native was detained at his hotel after police were alerted by the girl’s mother, who discovered their holiday romance through messages and photos on her daughter’s phone. Her mother only reported the case to the police once they had returned back home in London.

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Detained in Dubai, an organisation which helps foreigners abroad and is an international authority on UAE law, called the judgement an "utter disgrace" and said Fakana would appeal the "unreasonable" sentence. They further added that Fakana felt "abandoned by the British government", after his cries for help to Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, David Lammy, seemingly went a miss.

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The CEO of 'Detained in Dubai' Radha Stirling has given comments regarding his case, revealing how Marcus has been 'desperately hoping' to return home this week. "But prosecutorial mishandling in the first stages of the case meant it wasn't heard as a misdemeanour when it should have been," she said.

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"The family have issued a plea to Dubai ruler, HH Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, to spare Marcus for consensual sex with another British citizen."

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