Court upholds three year molestation sentence

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld a June Criminal Court ruling sentencing a 29-year-old man to three years in prison after convicting him of engaging in sexual activities with a minor in one of the Kingdom’s governorates in February.

The court declared the defendant guilty of molesting a 17-year-old victim on February 3, and handed him the maximum punishment.

Court papers said the victim was walking in the street when she met the defendant. “He asked her to ride with him and she accepted,” according to court documents.

The defendant then drove to a forested area where he engaged in sexual activities with the victim, according to court documents.

“The defendant then dropped the victim off at home and the following day she informed her family about the incident and they filed a complaint,” court transcripts added.

The defendant contested the Criminal Court’s ruling, asking to be declared innocent and arguing that the “court failed to rely on solid evidence to implicate him and depended on contradictory testimonies by the victim”.

However, the Court of Cassation ruled that the Criminal Court’s ruling was accurate and the defendant deserved the punishment he received.

 The Court of Cassation was comprised of judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Yassin Abdullat, Hamad Ghsawi, Bassem Mubeidin and Naji Zu’bi.