Cassation Court upholds 5-year sentence for man convicted of molesting teenager

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld a July 2023 Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to five years in prison after convicting him of molesting a Syrian teenager in Ramtha in August 2021.

The court declared the defendant guilty of molesting the 12-year-old girl in a deserted area in the town of Ramtha in mid-August.

Court papers said the victim met the defendant and they established a relationship.

 “The defendant convinced the teenager that he was in love with her and took her for a ride in his vehicle” court papers said.

The defendant parked his vehicle in a deserted area and “molested the child,” the court maintained.

The matter was exposed and the defendant was referred to the Family Protection Department (FPD), the court maintained.

“The defendant confessed to molesting the child when questioned by FPD officers,”, the court stated

The defendant contested his verdict through his lawyers claiming he was innocent.

The lawyers charged that the court relied on contradictory statements by the victim.

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 defendant confessed willingly to the sexual assault incident when he was questioned by law-enforcement agency officers,” the higher court ruled.

Therefore, he deserves the punishment he 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.