Five-year jail term upheld for man who molested teenage boy

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a February Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to five years in prison after convicting him of molesting a teenager in June 2015. 

The court declared the defendant guilty of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old after luring him to the roof of his home, and handed him the maximum punishment.

The court did not specify the area or the exact date of the incident.

“The defendant had met the victim at his friend’s barber shop and offered to give him a tattoo and the victim agreed,” court documents said.

Once the two were on the roof, “the defendant sexually molested the child”, according to the four-page verdict.

The incident was uncovered and the defendant reportedly confessed to the sexual assault in front of investigators at the Family Protection Department and the Criminal Court prosecutor.

“It was clear to our court that the defendant confessed willingly to the event in front of law enforcement officials and the Criminal Court prosecutor and his sentence is correct and sufficient,” the Cassation Court ruled in late April.

The higher court comprised former president of the Court of Cassation Judge Hisham Tel and judges Basel Abu Anzeh, Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zu’bi and Bassem Mubeidin.