Man sentenced to 3 years in prison for sexually assaulting teenage girl

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld a December 2021 Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to three years in prison after convicting him of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in June 2021.

The court declared the defendant guilty of sexually molesting a 17-year-old girl while at her family’s home on June 6.

The defendant was handed the maximum punishment by the court.

Court papers said the victim became friends with the defendant through social media.

The two agreed to meet after their friendship developed into a relationship, the court papers said.

On June 6, the court maintained, the victim agreed to meet with the defendant while her parents were away from home.

When the defendant arrived, the court maintained, “he molested the victim, then left”.

The victim notified her family and they took their daughter to the Family Protection Department where they filed a complaint against the defendant, the court stated

The defendant contested the verdict, through his lawyer, claiming he was innocent.

The court relied on contradictory statements given by the victim, the defence 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 victim’s statements were accurate and she did not provide any contradictory statements,” the higher court ruled.

Therefore, he deserves the punishment he received, the higher court added.

The Court of Cassation was headed by Judge Mohammad Ibrahim and included judges Maji Azab, Hayel Amr, Fawzi Nahar and Ibrahim Abu Shamma.