Court upholds sentence in child molestation case

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a December Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to over five years in prison after convicting him of molesting a teenage girl in Amman in July of last year.

The court declared the defendant guilty of molesting the 15-year-old child on July 14, and handed him the maximum punishment. Court papers said the victim and the defendant knew each other from social media and eventually they developed a relationship.

“The defendant invited the victim to come to his house and she agreed,” court papers said, adding that the defendant then undressed the victim and “molested her”.

The victim stayed the night at his house and the following day she returned home and the matter was exposed, according to court documents.

“The victim’s family filed a complaint and the defendant was arrested and charged,” court documents added.

The higher court rejected the defendant’s plea to reduce the sentence after the victim’s family drop charges against him, “because the law does not allow reduced sentences in cases of sexual assaults when the victim is a minor”.

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

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zu’bi, Majed Azab, Saeed Mugheid and Hamad Ghzawi.