Man sentenced to over 2 years in jail for molesting woman

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld a March Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to over two years in prison for molesting a woman in the street in Amman last October.

The defendant was convicted of molesting a 23-year-old woman who was walking in the street on October 22 and handed him four years in prison.

However, the court decided to reduce the sentence to two years and eight months because the victim dropped charges against the defendant.

Court papers said that the victim was walking in the street when the defendant, who was standing next to his vehicle, approached her and “placed his hand on her private parts”.

“The victim was shocked and slapped him on the face but he laughed and told her to hit him again,” according to court transcripts. 

The defendant then headed to his vehicle and left, the court added. 

The victim immediately pulled her mobile and took a photo of his licence plate and filed a complaint against him at a nearby police station, the court stated. 

The defendant contested the Criminal Court’s ruling through his lawyer, asking to be declared innocent and argued that the “victim’s testimony was contradictory”.

The defence team also charged that the prosecution office failed to provide any “solid evidence that would implicate his client”.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court prosecutor asked the higher court to uphold the sentence.

The Cassation Court ruled that the verdict was correct and the defendant deserved the ruling he had received. 

The Cassation Court comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Nayef Samarat, Ahmad Qatawneh, Saeed Mugheid and Hammad Ghzawi.