Minor sentenced to 1 year at juvenile detention centre for molesting girl

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a March Juvenile Court ruling, sentencing a minor to one year at a juvenile detention centre after convicting him of molesting a girl in June 2018.

The Juvenile Court found the minor guilty of molesting the 16-year-old victim on June 4 and handed him a three-year prison term.

However, the court decided to reduce the sentence to one year to give him “a second chance in life”, court documents said.

Court papers said the defendant, who is under 18, decided to molest the victim and headed to her house on the day of the incident.

“The defendant knocked on the door and informed the victim that he was a friend of her father,” according to court documents.

The victim believed him, the court maintained, and the minute she opened the door “he jumped on her and undressed her by force”.

“The minor molested the teenage girl and then left the house,” court documents added.

The victim immediately notified her family and they filed a complaint against him, court papers added. 

The defendant’s lawyer contested the sentence, arguing that the prosecution failed to provide any “solid evidence” that would implicate his client.

However, the higher court ruled that the Juvenile Court had followed the proper procedures and the defendant deserved the verdict he had received.

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