Man jailed for molestation

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a November Criminal Court ruling, which sentenced a repeat offender to over three years in prison after convicting him of molesting a taekwondo player in Jerash in February 2021.

The defendant, a taxi driver, was first sentenced to four years in prison for molesting the victim.

However, the court decided to increase the sentence to five years in prison because the defendant was convicted of theft in the past and was sentenced to five years in prison.

But the court decided to reduce the prison term to three years and four months because the victim dropped charges against the defendant.

Court papers said the victim waved the defendant to get a ride from Amman to Jerash.

On the way, the court documents added, the defendant “notified the victim that he planned to take a shortcut and the victim agreed”.

“The defendant parked his vehicle and asked the victim to engage in sexual activities with him but the latter refused,” according to court documents.

The victim descended from the vehicle and the defendant followed him and touched his private parts forcefully, the court papers said.

“The victim, who was a taekwondo player, kicked the defendant with his foot and called the police,” the court papers said.

The defendant contested the Criminal Court ruling, asking to be declared innocent “since the prosecution failed to provide solid evidence to implicate his client”.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the ruling.

The Court of Cassation ruled that the verdict was appropriate and the defendant deserved the verdict he had received.

The Cassation Court comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Yassin Abdullat, Mohammad Khashashneh, Hammad Ghzawi and Nayef Samarat.