AMMAN — The Cassation Court upheld an October 2023 Criminal Court decision to increase the prison term of a man who engaged in consensual sexual activities with a minor in Amman in 2023.

 

The Criminal Court handed the defendant a seven-year prison term after convicting him of engaging in sexual activities with a 16-year-old on multiple occasions starting in mid-May.

 

However, the court decided to increase the sentence to ten years and six months because the “defendant caused the victim to lose her virginity”.

 

Court documents said the defendant and the victim developed a relationship via social media.

 

The two decided to meet alone in a rented apartment in Jubeiha, the court maintained.

 

“The defendant and the minor engaged in consensual sexual activities for around two months,” according to court papers.

 

The victim’s family discovered the affair and reported the defendant to the police, court papers said.

 

The defendant was arrested and the victim was referred to the Family Protection Department for further examination and questioning, the court maintained.

 

The defendant confessed to the sexual activities with the minor and did not appeal his verdict.

 

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

 

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

 

The Cassation Court tribunal consisted of judges Mahmoud Ebtoush, Rizeq Abulfoul, Fawzi Nahar, Ibrahim Abu Shamma and Nayef Samarat.