The 30-year-old man said he never touched the young woman. But he acknowledged he heard her scream while they were "totally into" an erotic telephone conversation -- and that she reported bleeding, Al Arabiya reported.

Maha al-Metebaa, a lawyer representing the family, told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabs the case needs careful investigation because of its unprecedented allegations. He said a medical examination had determined that the woman, 20, was no longer a virgin.

"The intercourse did take place with all its details but verbally only," he said. "The sexual act did not really happen because the physical proximity factor is not there, yet it happened because there is a direct physical impact – the loss of virginity."