The couple , Michelle Johnson and David Acors , faced three - year sentences . The pair were arrested at a Dubai beach shortly after midnight on July 5 . They were charged with with illicit relations , public humiliation , public intoxication . Although a relatively moderate Christian state , Dubai holds to certain Islamic rules .
The couple , Michelle Palmer and Vincent Acors , faced three-month sentence . The pair were arrested at a Dubai beach shortly after midnight on July 5 . They were charged with with illicit relations , public indecency , public intoxication . Although a relatively moderate Gulf state , Dubai adheres to certain Islamic rules .