Three-year jail term for man who grabbed teenage boy in public

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 teenager in January 2017.

The court declared the defendant guilty of molesting a 17-year-old boy by grabbing his bottom while in the street on January 7.

The court also ordered the defendant to pay JD1,000 in fines.

Court papers said the defendant met the victim via Facebook and “started sending him pornographic photos”. He then asked to meet with the teenage boy, who informed his family about the incident.

“The victim’s father and his other sons decided to allow the teenager to meet with the defendant to see what his intentions were while closely monitoring their meeting,” the court said, adding “on the day of the incident, the defendant and the victim met, while the father and brothers were monitoring them from a distance.”

The defendant informed the victim that he wanted to “engage in sexual activities with him” and then “grabbed the victim’s butt all of a sudden and uttered obscene words”, the court added.

The victim managed to lure the defendant to his father’s shop as agreed with him previously and the police were notified about the matter, according to court documents.  

The defendant contested the Criminal Court’s ruling, arguing that “the victim and his family filed a false complaint to blackmail him and his family for some cash”.

However, the Higher Court ruled that the Criminal Court followed the proper procedures when sentencing the defendant and that he deserved the verdict he received.

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zubi, Yassin Abdullat, Hamad Ghzawi and Majid Azab.