Man sentenced to 4 years for molesting minor

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a February Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to four years in prison after convicting him of molesting a teenage girl in June 2021.

The defendant was convicted of engaging in consensual sexual activities with the victim in mid-June, and was handed a three-year prison term.

Court papers said the victim met the victim via social media and “she fled her family’s home to meet him”.

“The two went to a farm and engaged in sexual activities on two occasions,” according to the court transcripts. 

The matter was exposed and the defendant was arrested, the court added.

The defendant contested the Criminal Court’s ruling through his lawyer, asking to be declared innocent and arguing that the “victim’s testimony was contradictory”.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s general attorney asked the higher court to uphold the verdict against the defendant.

The Court of Cassation ruled that the verdict was correct and the defendant deserved the ruling he had received. 

“It was proven to the court that the DNA evidence collected from the victim’s underwear belonged to the defendant,” the higher court ruled.

The Cassation Court comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Yassin Abdullat, Nayef Samarat, Qassem Dughmi and Hammad Ghzawi.