Man gets 5-year jail term for molesting minor girl

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld an October Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to five years in prison after convicting him of molesting a minor in Aqaba in July of last year.

The court declared the defendant guilty of sexually assaulting the 13-year-old girl in a furnished apartment in Aqaba in mid-July and handed him the maximum sentence.

Court papers said the defendant and the victim, both residents of Irbid, became friends few months before the incident.

“The friendship turned into a relationship and the couple decided to head to Aqaba where the defendant rented a furnished apartment,” court papers said.

The defendant molested the child while they stayed in the apartment for five days, according to court transcripts.

The defendant was arrested on July 22 based on a complaint that was lodged by the victim’s family, the court papers added.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the sentence against the defendant "because the punishment he received was proper".

The defence, meanwhile, asked the court to acquit his client because "the court relied on weak evidence".

However, the higher court ruled that the Criminal Court proceedings were accurate and that the defendant was given the appropriate punishment.

It was proven to the court that the defendant confessed willingly to engaging in sexual activities with the minor and therefore deserves the punishment he had received, the higher court ruled.

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Majid Azab, Saeed Mugheid, Ahmad Qatawneh and Saeed Mugheid.