Cassation Court upholds over 9-year sentence for man over sexual misconduct with minor

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a January Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to over nine years in prison after convicting him of sexually assaulting a boy in Amman in September of last year.

The Criminal Court found the man guilty of sodomising the 14-year-old boy in Hashmi Shamali on September 17 and handed him a seven-year prison term. 

However, the court decided to increase the sentence to nine years and four months “due to the victim's age”.

Court papers said the victim would often visit the defendant at his coffee shop in downtown Amman.

On the day of the incident, the court maintained that the victim wanted a ride back to his house, so the defendant offered to take him.

However, the court maintained that the defendant convinced the minor to return to his apartment to have dinner with him.

“The defendant offered the victim a cigarette, which made him drowsy and ended up sexually assaulting him,” according to court documents. 

According to court papers, the defendant then dropped the minor at a nearby bus station.

The victim returned home and immediately notified his mother and a complaint was filed against him, the court papers said.  

The defendant’s lawyer contested the court ruling citing “contradictory evidence”.

The lawyer also charged that the sexual encounter between his client and the victim was “consensual”.

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

The higher court ruled that the Criminal Court had followed the proper procedures, and the defendant deserved the verdict he received. 

“It was proven to court through DNA evidence that the sperms found on the victim’s body belonged to the defendant,” the higher court ruled.

The Court of Cassation judges were Mahmoud Ebtoush, Rizeq Abulfool, Qassem Dughmi, Fawzi Nahar and Ibrahim Abu Shama.