Court upholds eight-year sentence for child sex offender

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a September Criminal Court ruling sentencing a sex offender to eight years in prison after convicting him of robbing and molesting a boy in Amman in September 2017.

The court originally handed the defendant a seven-year prison term after convicting him of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy and robbing him on September 11.

However, the court decided to increase the sentence by one year “because the defendant had been convicted on robbery charges in the past”.

Court papers said the boy was heading to the market to buy some groceries when he was stopped by the defendant.

“The defendant dragged the boy to a nearby apartment and sexually assaulted him at knifepoint,” according to court documents.

The defendant searched the boy and found JD6.75 in his pocket and “he took it”, according to court transcripts.

The victim returned home and informed his family who then alerted the authorities, the court transcripts said.

The court said it relied on the victim’s testimony, who also identified the defendant in a police line-up, the court papers said.

Investigators also relied on cameras in nearby shops that “showed the defendant talking to the victim”, court documents added. 

The Court of Cassation ruled that the Criminal Court proceedings were correct and the defendant deserved the punishment he received.

The higher court comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Yassin Abdullat, Naji Zu’bi, Bassem Mubeidin and Majid Azab.