Court upholds sentence for man convicted of sex with minor

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld the seven-year prison sentence to an Egyptian national convicted of engaging in consensual sex with a minor.

In March, the Criminal Court found Abed S. guilty of engaging in sexual activities with a 17-year-old in Sahab in September 2015.

The court said the victim and the defendant were engaged in an affair and that “she willingly engaged in sexual activities with him at his house”.

“The defendant offered to marry her and asked her to inform her family, but the police discovered the matter and they arrested him,” court documents said.

The court ruled that the defendant must be imprisoned because the victim was under 18. The defendant had confessed in court and pleaded guilty to the charges.

The defendant did not contest the ruling at a higher court, court papers said, but any sentence over five years is automatically reviewed by the Cassation Court. 

The higher court ruled recently that the Criminal Court’s verdict was sufficient and in accordance with the law.

The Cassation Court comprised judges Yassin Abdullat, Mohammad Tarawneh, Daoud Tubelieh, Bassem Mubeidin and Hussein Sakran.