Man gets 3-year jail term for molesting teenage girl

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a December Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to three years in prison after convicting him of molesting a teenage girl in Aqaba in March 2018.

The court declared the defendant guilty of molesting the 17-year-old girl in a hotel room in Aqaba in mid-March and handed him the maximum sentence.

Court papers said the victim met the defendant via social media and they then developed a relationship.

A few months after meeting online, the court maintained, the “relationship developed and the two decided to head to Aqaba”.

“The defendant rented a room and engaged in consensual sexual activities with the victim,” according to the court transcripts.

The following day, the victim’s family members were able to locate her and the police were immediately notified, court papers added.

The defendant contested the court ruling through his lawyer arguing that the tribunal relied on weak evidence.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s general attorney asked the higher court to uphold the verdict.

The higher court rejected the defendant’s argument and ruled that the Criminal Court followed the proper procedures when sentencing the defendant and he deserved the verdict he had received.

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Mohammad Khashashneh, Fawzi Nahar, Nayef Samarat and Hayel Amr.