Cassation Court upholds over 9-year sentence for man over sexual misconduct with minor

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld a January Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to over nine years in prison after convicting him of sexually assaulting a teenage boy in Amman in September 2023.

The court declared the defendant guilty of sodomising a 14-year-old boy while in his apartment on September 17.

The defendant was handed nine years and four months in prison for the offence.

Court papers said the victim knew the defendant because he would often visit the coffee shop where the latter worked.

 “The defendant convinced the victim to give him a ride back to his house,” the court added.

Instead, the court maintained, the defendant took the victim to his house where he sexually assaulted him.

“The defendant dropped the victim at a nearby bus station,” the court stated.

The victim returned to his family’s home and informed them about the sexual assault incident, court papers added.

The victim's family took their son to the Family Protection Department where they filed a complaint against the defendant, the court stated.

The court said in its ruling that it relied in its conviction on DNA evidence taken from the victim’s body, which matched the defendant’s.

The defendant contested his verdict through his lawyer claiming he was innocent.

The defendant claimed that the court relied on contradictory investigation procedures.

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

The higher court ruled that the Criminal Court proceedings were accurate and that the defendant was given the appropriate punishment.

“The defendant confessed to the sexual assault incident when he was arrested and the DNA evidence supports the prosecution’s case,” the higher court ruled.

Therefore, he deserves the punishment he received, the higher court added.

The Court of Cassation was headed by Judge Mahmoud Ebtoush and included judges Rizeq Abulfool, Fawzy Nahar, Ibrahim Abu Shamma and Qassem Dughmi.