Cassation Court upholds 9-year term for man in minor’s sexual assault case

AMMAN — The Cassation Court upheld a May 2023 Criminal Court decision to increase the prison term of a man who engaged in consensual sexual activities with a minor in the Jordan Valley in May 2022.

The Criminal Court handed the defendant a seven-year prison term after convicting him of engaging in sexual activities twice with a 16-year-old in May.

However, the court decided to increase the sentence to nine years and four months because the “defendant caused the victim to lose her virginity”.

The court also refused to reduce the prison term because the victim was under 18, according to court transcripts.

Court documents said the defendant and the victim developed a relationship one year before the incident.

The two decided to meet alone in May, the court maintained.

“The defendant took the victim to his house and engaged in consensual sexual activities on two different occasions,” the court stated.

The matter was exposed a few weeks later after the victim complained of stomach pain, the court added.

“The victim’s family discovered that their daughter was pregnant and alerted the authorities,” court papers said.

The defendant was arrested and the victim was referred to the Family Protection Department for further examination and questioning, the court maintained.

The defendant did not contest the verdict at a higher court. 

Meanwhile, The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the ruling.  

The Cassation Court ruled that the Criminal Court’s judgement fell within the law, that the proceedings were proper and that the sentence given was satisfactory.

The Cassation Court tribunal comprised judges Mahmoud Ebtoush, Majid Azab, Rizeq Abulfoul, Ibrahim Abu Shamm and Fawzi Nahar.