Frustrating wait in Dubai sex-triangle case

Toby Carroll. Photo / Supplied

Friends and family of the New Zealander caught up in Dubai courts because of a love triangle are "frustrated" waiting for the case to clear, says an ex-girlfriend in Auckland.

Toby Carroll, an HSBC analyst, was arrested for having sex outside marriage after he called in the police to quell a catfight between two of his lovers.

Brazilian model Priscilla Ferreira had stormed in on Carroll when he was in bed with British ex-stripper Danielle Spencer, leading to the smashing of furniture and threats at knifepoint.

When police arrived, Carroll, Ferreira and Spencer were arrested for having consensual sex. Extramarital sex is a crime in the United Arab Emirates. Carroll appeared in court last week, where a forensic expert claimed to have found his semen inside Spencer.

The expert failed to find traces inside Ferreira, who had previously disputed reports calling her a "former" girlfriend, telling British tabloids she planned to marry Carroll.

Auckland public relations consultant Anna Jobsz, a former love interest during Carroll's New Zealand days, said yesterday that both Carroll and his friends and family in New Zealand were enduring an ongoing wait for the case to clear.

"It's really frustrating. There have been no updates."

The Dubai trio spent almost two months in jail before being released on bail, with the two women sharing a cell and becoming friends "to survive", Ferreira told the Daily Mail.

"We're anticipating that they're not going to have to go back in [jail], but we're just waiting," Ms Jobsz said. "He's still over there and obviously still on bail."

Carroll's mother, Beverley Carroll, has previously noted that police had arrived at her son's request - not because there was "rampant sex going on in his apartment".

"He hasn't done anything that any guy in any other country wouldn't do. He has slept with a girl, it was sex out of a marriage and there is no other country where that is a crime," Beverley Carroll told the Herald on Sunday.

Spencer told reporters after she was released from prison that Carroll had been "quite a catch" with his top-of-the-range Porsche.

The case is classed as a "misdemeanour", which is less serious than a felony. Typically, a misdemeanour means a fine or jail term of up to a year.

An Emirates legal specialist has said any sex charges are likely to be based on forensic tests and a high degree of evidence is required for sex charges to stick in court, including a suspect's confession, witness testimonies or medical tests.

The next hearing is scheduled for June 22.