Man sentenced to five years in prison for molesting minor

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld a July Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to five years in prison after convicting him of molesting a Syrian teenage girl in Irbid in May of last year.

The court declared the defendant guilty of molesting the 13-year-old victim on May 17.

The court handed the defendant the maximum punishment.

Court papers said the victim and the defendant knew each other because they lived in the same building.

“The defendant asked the victim to accompany him to his apartment where he molested her,” court papers said.

The defendant was arrested shortly afterwards and the girl was referred to the Family Protection Department (FPD), according to court transcripts.

“Forensic experts at the FPD collected evidence from the victim’s body and after examination the samples matched the DNA of the defendant,” court papers said.

The defendant did not contest his verdict.

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 Court of Cassation was headed by Judge Mahmoud Ebtoush and included judges Rizeq Abulfool, Qassem Dughmi, Fawzi Nahar and Ibrahim Abu Shamma.