Man receives 5 year prison sentence for molestation of minor

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a September Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to five years in prison after convicting him of molesting a minor in Amman in December 2019.

The court declared the defendant guilty of sexually assaulting the 16-year-old girl twice in December and handed him the maximum sentence.

Court papers said the defendant and victim met each other via social media and developed a relationship.

The two met on two occasions where the defendant molested the child, court transcripts said.

During the second instance, the defendant and the child went for a walk following the sexual assault and were caught by police, the court documents added.

The victim's family filed a complaint at the Family Protection Department, according to court papers.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the sentence against the defendant "because the punishment he received was proper".

The defence, meanwhile, asked the court to acquit his client because "the court relied on weak evidence and contradictory statements by the victim".

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

It was proven to the court that the defendant confessed willingly to engaging in sexual activities with the minor and therefore deserves the punishment he had received, the higher court ruled.

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Qassem Dughmi, Mohammad Khashashneh, Yassin Abdullat and Hammad Ghzawi.