Restaurant manager jailed for sexually abusing underage employee

AMMAN — The Cassation Court upheld a Criminal Court decision to increase the prison term of a restaurant manager who engaged in consensual sexual activities with his underage employee in 2013.

The Criminal Court handed the defendant a seven-year prison term after convicting him of engaging in sexual activities 19 times with his 17-year-old female employee.

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.

The court documents said the victim worked at a restaurant in Amman where the defendant was her manager.

The two developed a relationship and the victim “engaged in sexual activities with the defendant on several occasions”, the court documents said.

“The defendant promised to marry the victim but disappeared and the victim filed a lawsuit against him,” the court papers stated.

The defendant did not contest the verdict at a higher court.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s prosecution office asked the higher court to inflict the maximum punishment against the defendant.

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, Hayel Amr, Nayef Samarat, Qassem Dughmi and Majid Azab.