Man handed over 9 years in jail for molesting teenager

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld a September Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to over nine years in prison after convicting him of engaging in consensual sexual activities with a teenage girl in Amman in June 2020.

The court declared the defendant guilty of molestation charges of a 15-year-old girl and handed him nine years and four months in prison.

Court papers said the victim met the defendant via social media in February 2019.

“The two developed a relationship and the victim ended up going to an apartment he owned in Jubeiha,” according to the court transcripts.

The two engaged in consensual sexual activities on several occasions in June 2020, the court transcripts said.

The matter was disclosed when police caught the girl wandering in the street during curfew times, according to the court papers.

The defendant appealed his verdict through his lawyer claiming that the prosecution “failed to provide any solid evidence” to implicate him.

The defence also claimed that the victim provided contradictory statements, which could not be used as evidence against his client.

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 judges presiding were Mohammad Ibrahim, Majid Azab, Fawzi Nahar, Hayel Amr and Ibrahim Abu Shamma.