Court backs prior ruling in molestation case

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a November Criminal Court ruling sentencing a Syrian man to three years in prison after convicting him of molesting a minor in August of last year.

The court declared the defendant guilty of molesting a 16-year-old girl in his apartment and handed him the maximum sentence.

Court papers said the victim and the defendant met via Facebook and began corresponding regularly on social media.

“The defendant asked the victim to meet him at his house and she agreed,” according to the court transcripts.

The defendant undressed the victim and “molested her shortly after she arrived at his apartment”, court transcripts said.

“The victim returned home and her family asked her about the cause of her absence and she informed them about the incident,” court papers added.

The minor’s family pressed charges against the defendant and he was arrested as a result, court transcripts said.

The higher court rejected the defendant’s argument and 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 Zu’bi, Majid Azab, Yassin Abdullat and Nayef Samarat.