Man sentenced to 4 years for statutory rape

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld an April 2022 Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to four years in prison after convicting him of engaging in consensual sexual activities with a teenager in June 2021.

The court declared the defendant guilty of engaging in sexual activities with the 16-year-old girl five times in an apartment in Amman, and handed the defendant the maximum punishment.

Court papers said that the victim, who resided in Irbid, became friends with the defendant through social media.

The two agreed to meet after their friendship developed into a relationship, the court papers said.

On June 15, the court maintained, the victim escaped from her family’s home in Irbid and met the defendant in an apartment in Amman.

“The two engaged in sexual activities for five days,” the court transcripts said.

The victim returned to her home and informed her family about the sexual encounters with the defendant, the court papers added.

The victim's family took their daughter to the Family Protection Department, where they filed a complaint against the defendant, the court stated.

The defendant contested his verdict, claiming he was innocent.

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

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

“The defendant confessed to the sexual assault incident when he was arrested,” the higher court ruled.

"Therefore, he deserves the punishment he received," the higher court added.

The Court of Cassation was headed by Judge Mohammad Ibrahim and included judges Nayef Samarat, Qassem Dughmi, Hammad Ghzawi and Mohammad Khashashneh.