Man handed 7-year jail term for sexually assaulting teenage girl

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld an October 2023 Criminal Court ruling, sentencing an Egyptian national to seven years in prison after convicting him of engaging in consensual sexual activities with a teenage divorced Syrian girl in 2023.

The court declared the defendant guilty of engaging in sexual activities with the 17-year-old minor and handed him the maximum penalty.  

Court papers said the victim and the defendant knew each other few months before the incident.

The two developed a relationship, and the defendant “went to the girl’s house on three different occasions and engaged in sexual activities with her, the court added.

The victim became pregnant and notified the defendant, who asked her not to inform her family, court papers added.

However, the victim informed her family, and they took their daughter to the Family Protection Department for legal action against the defendant, the court stated.

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

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, Fawzy Nahar, Majid Rafaya and Qassem Dughmi.