Man jailed for over 10 years for sexually abusing minor

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld a December Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to over 10 years in prison after convicting him of engaging in consensual sexual activities with a minor in September of last year.

The Criminal Court handed the defendant a seven-year prison term after convicting him of engaging in sexual activities with a 16-year-old girl on September 21.

However, the court decided to increase the punishment by half because the “victim was a virgin at the time of the sexual assault”.

The defendant ended up receiving a 10-year and six-month prison term.

Court documents said the defendant and the victim developed a relationship after they met on social media a few months before the incident.

The defendant and the victim got engaged, the court maintained, but her family “decided to break the engagement few months later”.

As a result, the court added, the victim had constant fights with her family and left her house.

“The defendant and the victim met shortly afterward and engaged in sexual activities in his vehicle,” the court stated.

The incident was discovered and the victim was referred to the Family Protection Department for further follow-up.

The defendant confessed to authorities that “he was the one who engaged in sexual activities with the victim and caused her to lose her virginity,” according to court papers.

The defendant, through his lawyer, had contested the Criminal Court ruling claiming that the “authorities did not follow the proper procedures when questioning his client”.

“My client did not have a lawyer present during the investigations proceedings and questioning by the police and criminal prosecutor,” court papers said.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s general attorney had asked the higher court to uphold the ruling, stating that the court had abided by the proper legal procedures when sentencing the defendant.

The Cassation Court ruled that the Criminal Court’s judgment fell within the law, and that the proceedings were proper and the sentence given was satisfactory.

“The defendant confessed freely and willingly to the sexual assault of a minor,” the court ruled.

The Cassation Court tribunal comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Majid Azab, Hayel Amr, Fawzi Nahar and Ibrahim Abu Shamma.