Repeat offender jailed for molestation

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld a June Criminal Court ruling, increasing the prison term of a repeat offender after convicting him of breaking into a woman’s house in Rusiefeh and molesting her in June 2019.

The court initially declared the defendant guilty of the molestation charges and handed him a four-year prison term.

However, the court decided to add an additional two years to the sentence because “the defendant was a repeat offender”. 

Court papers said that the victim was alone at home on June 26 when the defendant knocked on the door of her home.

“The defendant asked the woman to speak to her husband, but she informed him that he was not home. He pushed open the door and forced his way in,” the court transcripts said.

The defendant then sexually molested the victim, the court transcripts stated.

“The victim managed to escape from the house and asked a man in the street to help her. The defendant was later arrested,” according to the court papers.

The defendant did not contest his verdict.  

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 was headed by Judge Mohammad Ibrahim and included judges Mohammad Shreir, Majid Azab, Hayel Amr and Fawzi Nahar.