Court upholds sentence for man convicted of sexual activity with minor

AMMAN — The Cassation Court upheld a January Criminal Court decision to increase the prison term of a man who engaged in consensual sexual activities with his minor neighbour last year, in October last year.

The Criminal Court handed the defendant a seven-year prison term after convicting him of engaging in sexual activities with his 17-year-old neighbour in mid-October.

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 because they were neighbours.

In mid-October, the court maintained, the victim decided to leave her family’s home in the Jordan Valley with the defendant.

“The defendant took the victim to an apartment in Aqaba where he engaged in sexual activities with her for eight days,” the court stated.

The victim then contacted her mother to inform her hat she was in Aqaba with the defendant, the court added.

“The victim’s mother instructed her daughter to hand herself in to police,” court papers said.

The defendant was arrested and the victim was referred to the Family Protection Department.

“The court relied on DNA evidence from samples taken from the victim’s clothes, which belonged to the defendant,” according to court transcripts.

The defendant had contested the Criminal Court ruling claiming that the “victim gave contradictory statements regarding the incident”.

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