Four men handed prison terms for molesting minor

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a March Criminal Court ruling sentencing four men to prison terms ranging from five to 15 years in prison after convicting them of engaging in sexual activities with a minor in Amman in January 2018.

The court declared three of the four defendants guilty of engaging in consensual sexual activities with a 13-year-old girl on January 8 and handed them a 15-year prison sentence each for the charge.

The fourth defendant was handed a five-year prison term after being convicted of molesting the minor. 

Court papers said the victim had a fight with her father on the night of the incident and left her house.

“The victim walked aimlessly in the street and was picked up by one of the defendants who took her to a deserted area where he engaged in sexual activities with her in his car,” according to the court transcripts.

The defendant called the three of his friends and then headed to a deserted house, the court documents stated.

“The defendants also engaged in sexual activities with the minor,” court papers added. 

The victim was later found by police, who alerted her family and the four defendants were arrested, according to court documents.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the sentences against the four defendants.

Meanwhile, the defendants all pleaded “not guilty” to the charges and maintained their innocence arguing that the victim “presented inconsistent testimonies” against them during the court hearings.

However, the higher court ruled that the Criminal Court proceedings were accurate and that the defendants were given appropriate punishments.

“The DNA tests indicated that samples taken from the victim’s body and clothes matched the four defendants and therefore, they deserve the punishment,” the higher court ruled.

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zu’bi, Hammad Ghzawi, Yassin Abdullat and Majid Azab.