10-year jail sentence upheld for man convicted of raping minor

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld a February Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to 10 years in prison after convicting him of raping a minor in an Amman suburb in mid-2016. 

The court first handed the defendant a seven-year prison term after convicting him of sexually assaulting the 17-year-old victim 20 times.

However, the court decided to increase the sentence to a 10-and-a-half-years because the victim was a virgin at the time of the assault.

Court papers said that the victim and the defendant, who was a high school student, engaged in an “illegitimate relationship”.

In October, the victim’s family found out that she had become pregnant and the sexual assault was discovered, leading to the arrest of the defendant. 

The higher court ruled late last month that the Criminal Court’s proceedings were accurate and correct and the defendant received the appropriate punishment.

The Cassation Court comprised judges Hisham Tel, Basil Abu Anzeh, Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zubi and Bassem Mubeidin.