Cassation Court upholds sentence for convicted sexual abuser

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld a June 2022 Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a 29-year-old man to over three years in prison after convicting him of sexually assaulting a 26-year-old woman in May 2021.

The court declared the defendant guilty of molestation charges and handed him a four-year prison term.

The court decided to add one year to the sentence because the defendant was a repeated offender.

However, the court also decided to immediately reduce the sentence to three years and four months in prison because the victim dropped charges against him.

Court papers said the victim was driving to work in her vehicle when she was approached by the defendant who was driving his pickup truck.

“The defendant waved at the victim asking her to stop by claiming that she had a flat tyre,” court papers said.

When the victim descended from her vehicle to check out the matter, “the defendant approached her and touched her private parts,” court papers said.

The victim immediately jumped in her vehicle and sped off, the court transcripts added.

“The woman filed a complaint at the police station and was able to identify the suspect through a police lineup,” according to the court transcripts.

The defendant contested his verdict through his two layers claiming he was innocent.

The lawyers argued that the SSC prosecution office provided weak and contradictory evidence in the case.

The lawyer also argued that the defendant was the main caretaker of his old parents who needed constant medical attention and, therefore, “should receive clemency from the court”.

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

The higher court ruled that the Criminal Court proceedings were accurate and that the defendant was given the appropriate punishment.

The Court of Cassation was headed by Judge Mohammad Ibrahim and included judges Majid Azab, Hayel Amr, Ibrahim Abu Shamma and Mohammad Shreiri.