Court upholds sentence in Amman molestation case

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a May Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to eight years in prison after convicting him of molesting a child in February of 2018.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of molesting an 11-year-old girl on February 11, in an Amman neighbourhood and handed him the maximum punishment.

Court papers said on the day of the incident, the defendant spotted the girl walking in the street and asked her to help him write an address on a piece of paper claiming he did not know how to read or write.

”The victim agreed and started writing what he told her but was surprised by the defendant who approached her from behind and started undressing her,” court documents said.

The defendant “then touched the victim’s private parts but she started screaming and ran away”, according to court transcripts.

”The victim notified her family and they filed a complaint against the defendant and he was arrested,” the court verdict added.

The defendant, through his lawyer, contested the court’s ruling arguing that the “court did not follow proper legal proceedings”.

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

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zu’bi, Yassin Abdullat, Nayef Samarat and Hamad Ghzawi.