Minor sentenced to one year at juvenile centre for molesting four-year-old girl

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a May Juvenile Court ruling, sentencing a minor to one year at a juvenile detention centre after convicting him of molesting a Syrian refugee girl in a camp in September 2019.

The Juvenile Court found the minor guilty of molesting a four-year-old girl who lived in a refugee camp in Zarqa on September 14 and handed him a three-year prison term.

However, the court decided to reduce the sentence to one year because the victim’s family dropped charges against him, court documents stated.

Court papers said that the victim was heading to a shop inside the camp when the defendant spotted her.

“The defendant grabbed the victim by her hand and molested her in a secluded area,” according to court documents.

The juvenile prosecutor asked the court to uphold the ruling.

However, the defendant’s lawyer contested the sentence, arguing that “the defendant should be acquitted because there is no physical evidence linking him to the assault”.

“The victim also provided contradictory statements that could not be relied on,” court transcripts said.

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

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Bassem Mubeidin, Hammad Ghzawi, Nayef Samarat and Mohammad Khashashneh.