Man handed 12-year prison term for molesting minor

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a January Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to 12 years in prison after convicting him of molesting a four-year-old boy in Amman in June 2021.

The defendant was convicted of molesting the child while at his mother’s home on June 23 and handed him the maximum punishment.

Court papers said the victim’s family would often leave their child in the care of the defendant’s mother.

On the day of the incident, the court maintained, the defendant’s mother left the house to run a quick errand.

“The defendant took advantage of his mother’s absence and sexually assaulted the boy, who was three years and 11 months at the time of the assault,” according to court transcripts. 

The victim returned home and notified his family about the incident, the court added.

“The victim’s family headed to the Family Protection Department and filed a complaint against the defendant,” according to the court papers.

The defendant contested the Criminal Court’s ruling through his lawyer, asking to be declared innocent arguing that the “victim’s testimony was contradictory”.

The defendant also claimed that “he was forced by the authorities to confess to something that he did not do.”

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s general attorney asked the higher court to uphold the verdict against the defendant.

The Court of Cassation ruled that the verdict was correct and the defendant deserved the ruling he had received. 

“The court relied in its ruling on DNA samples taken from the victim’s body and underwear, which were proven by crime lab technicians to belong to the defendant,” the higher court stated.

The Cassation Court comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Yassin Abdullat, Nayef Samarat, Mohammad Khashashneh and Hammad Ghzawi.