Taxi driver handed 1-year prison term for molesting teenage boy

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld a May Criminal Court ruling sentencing a taxi driver to one year in prison after convicting him of molesting a teenager with an intellectual disability in Amman in December 2017.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of molesting the boy while giving him a ride in his vehicle on December 5 and handed him a three-year prison term. 

However, the court immediately reduced the sentence to one year because the victim’s mother dropped charges against the defendant.

Court papers said the victim waved the taxi down to give him a ride to his home in Shafa Badran.

 On the way, the court transcripts maintained, the defendant “touched the boy on his private parts”.

The defendant dropped the victim off and the teenager managed to write down the vehicle’s number and informed his family about the sexual assault incident, the court maintained.

The Criminal Court general attorney asked the higher court to uphold the verdict, saying that the Criminal Court had applied the proper procedures when convicting the defendant.

The defendant contested the verdict, asking for acquittal on the grounds that “there were contradictory statements by the witnesses and the victim”.

The defendant’s lawyer also charged that the Criminal Court prosecutor had failed to provide any evidence that would implicate his client.

However, the higher court ruled that the Criminal Court proceedings were accurate and correct and the defendant had received the appropriate punishment.

The Cassation Court bench comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Yassin Abdullat, Majid Azab, Hamad Ghzawi and Bassim Mubeidin.