Man gets 8-year prison term for child molestation

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld a January Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to eight years in prison after convicting him of molesting a brother and a sister in an eastern Amman neighbourhood in May 2015.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of the charges of molesting the 10-year-old girl and nine-year-old boy 22 times and handed him the maximum punishment. 

Court papers said the victims were the defendant’s relatives and he would often visit them at their home. 

On May 7, the defendant went to the victims’ home and when their parents left to buy some food, the defendant asked “each of the two children to enter the bedroom separately”.

“The defendant undressed the children and molested them,” according to court documents

When the victims’ parents returned home, the court maintained, “they informed their parents of what happened”.

Upon questioning the victims and the defendants, investigators learnt that they were victims of sexual assaults by their relative  

The Criminal Court attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the verdict.

The defendant had contested the court asking for acquittal on the grounds that “there were contradictory statements by the witnesses and the victim”.

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

The court comprised former judges Yassin Abdullat, Daoud Tubeleh, Hamad Ghzawi, Naji Zu’bi and Nayef Samarat.