Man jailed for molesting sibling

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a September Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a 19-year-old man to over nine years in prison after convicting him of molesting his sibling in Amman in August 2018.

The court declared the defendant guilty of sexually assaulting his 13-year-old sister after sneaking into her room on August 23 and handed him seven years in prison.

However, the court decided to increase the sentence by two years and four months because the victim was one of his immediate family members.

Court papers said the defendant and the victim lived in the same house.

The defendant decided to molest his sibling and waited until everyone went to sleep, according to court papers.

"The defendant sunk to the victim’s room, undressed her and sexually assaulted her against her will," court transcripts said.

The victim's family learned about the sexual assault incident and filed a complaint at the Family Protection Department, according to court papers.

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 and his client was innocent".

However, the higher court ruled that the Criminal Court proceedings were accurate and that the defendant was given the appropriate punishment.

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Hammad Ghzawi, Ahmad Qatawneh, Nayef Samarat and Saeed Mugheid.