Six-year jail term for repeat sexual offender

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a June Criminal Court ruling sentencing a 35-year-old man to six years in prison after convicting him of molesting a teenage boy in January.

The court declared the defendant guilty of molesting the 16-year-old boy on January 18 and handed him a five-year prison term.

However, the Criminal Court decided to increase the sentence by one year because the defendant was a repeated offender.

Court papers said the defendant lured the teenage boy to a deserted area where he “forced him to undress under knife point then sexually assaulted him”.

The victim rushed to his family’s house and told them what happened, court transcripts said, adding that the defendant was immediately arrested but he denied any wrongdoing and later pleaded not guilty in court.

However, the court said it relied in its ruling on DNA evidence that linked the defendant to the sexual assault against the boy.

The higher court ruled that the Criminal Court followed the proper procedures and the defendant deserved the verdict he received.

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zu’bi, Yassin Abdullat, Hammad Ghzawi and Majid Azab.