Man gets 10-year prison term for molesting 16-year-old boy

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a March Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a repeat sex offender to 10 years in prison after convicting him of molesting a minor in Amman in November 2019.

The court declared the defendant guilty of sexually assaulting the 16-year-old boy by force on November 25 and handed him the maximum sentence.

The court stated in its decision that the tribunal decided to impose the maximum punishment because the defendant “confessed to investigators that he had molested children before”.

Court papers said the defendant was driving around on the night of the incident when he spotted the boy walking in the street.

“The defendant snatched the victim from the street and dragged him to a deserted area where he beat him up and sexually assaulted him by force,” court documents said.

The defendant let the child go following the attack and he immediately notified his family, court papers said.

The victim’s family notified the Family Protection Department and the suspect was arrested, court transcripts 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".

The defence also charged that "the victim provided contradictory statements and that the sexual encounter between the two was not conducted by force", the court added.

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 others in the past and therefore deserves the punishment he had received, the higher court ruled.

The SSC added that the Criminal Court’s ruling was correct since DNA evidence linked the defendant to the sexual assault incident, the court papers added.

Furthermore, the higher court referred to the government physician’s examination report, which indicated that the victim was subjected to a violent sexual assault, according to court documents.

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Fawzi Samarat, Hayel Amr, Mohammad Khashashneh and Fawzi Nahar.