Man jailed for sexually abusing minor

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld a July 2022 Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to four years in prison after convicting him of engaging in virtual sexual activities with a teenager in June 2021.

The court declared the defendant guilty of exchanging nude photos with a teenage girl four times on June 7.

The defendant was handed the maximum punishment by the court.

Court papers said the victim became friends with the defendant through social media.

“The two exchanged nude photos and the matter was exposed,” the court papers said.

The victim’s family took their daughter to the Family Protection Department where they filed a complaint against the defendant, the court papers stated.

The defendant contested his verdict claiming he was innocent.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the sentence.

“The prosecution office failed to provide any solid evidence that my client was guilty of the charges,” according to the court documents.

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

“The defendant confessed to the sexual assault incident when he was arrested,” the higher court ruled.

Therefore, he deserves the punishment he had received, the higher court added.

The Court of Cassation was headed by Judge Mahmoud Ebtoush and included judges Nayef Samarat, Qassem Dughmi, Hammad Ghzawi and Mohammad Khashashneh.