Man sentenced for 3 years in prison for molesting teenage girl

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld an October Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to three years in prison after convicting him of molesting a teenage girl in the Karak Governorate in October 2020.

The court declared the defendant guilty of molesting the 17-year-old girl in a secluded area and handed him the maximum sentence.

Court papers said the victim met the defendant while leaving school because he hung out in that area.

The two exchanged numbers and started chatting on various social media outlets.

“The defendant convinced the teenager to go with him on rides and took her to a secluded area where he molested her,” according to the court transcripts.

The defendant dropped the victim back home and she informed her mother about the sexual encounter, according to court papers.

The victim’s family immediately filed a complaint at the police and the defendant was arrested, the court added.

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

The defence claimed that the victim provided contradictory statements and that “sexual activities were consensual”, court papers said.

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