Algerian athlete gets five-year jail term for molesting British child in Amman

AMMAN — The Criminal Court on Wednesday sentenced an Algerian athlete to five years in prison after convicting him of molesting a British girl in a hotel elevator in Amman.

The court declared the defendant guilty of molesting the 13-year-old victim, whom he had just met in a hotel in Amman, and handed him a five-year prison term.

“The court decided to amend the rape charges to molestation because it was proven to the court that the victim was not raped,” a senior judicial source told The Jordan Times.

Court documents said the defendant was part of an Algerian sports team that was visiting the Kingdom.

“The defendant met the victim in the hotel and the two went to an elevator where they engaged in sexual activities,” the court said.

The matter was exposed and the defendant was arrested and charged with rape of a minor, the court added.

The defendant, who pleaded not guilty, denied committing any wrongdoing. However, the court relied on DNA evidence found on the victim and “videos of a camera that was installed in the elevators of the hotel”, a second judicial source said.

“The tribunal summoned criminal lab experts who examined the videotapes and determined that the man seen with the victim was the defendant,” the second judicial source told The Jordan Times.

The tribunal comprised judges Fawzi Nahar, Loui Obeidat and Mohammad Hijazi.

The Criminal Court Prosecutor Ahmad Bdeirat asked the court to inflict the maximum punishment.

Tuesday’s verdict will automatically be reviewed by the Court of Cassation within the next 30 days.