Consensual sex with minor lands man in jail for 7 years

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld a March Criminal Court ruling sentencing a Syrian man to seven years 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 twice with a 17-year-old girl in mid-September.

The court also refused to reduce the prison term because the victim was under 18, according to court transcripts.

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

In mid-September, the court maintained, the victim informed the defendant about her address and he went to her house and entered her room without her parent’s knowledge.

“The defendant and the victim engaged in sexual activities and repeated the same few days later,” the court stated.

In mid-December, the court maintained, the defendant and the victim were heading to a secluded area near her home when the minor was spotted by her father.

“The father immediately alerted the authorities and the defendant was arrested,” court papers said.

The victim was referred to the Family Protection Department and attending physicians took samples.

“The Criminal Court said it relied on DNA evidence from samples taken from the victim’s body, which belonged to the defendant,” according to court transcripts.

The court added that the DNA matching samples “were part of the solid evidence used to implicate the defendant”. 

The defendant had contested the Criminal Court ruling claiming that the “victim gave contradictory statements regarding the incident”.

The lawyer also charged that the Criminal Court prosecutor failed to “provide solid evidence to convict my client”.

“My client did not get a legal and fair questioning procedure and there was no legal representation during his initial questioning by the authorities,” court papers said.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s general attorney had asked the higher court to uphold the seven-year sentence 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 judgement fell within the law, that the proceedings were proper and the sentence given was satisfactory.

The Cassation Court tribunal comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Yassin Abdullat, Nayef Samarat, Naji Zu’bi and Bassem Mubeidin.