10-year sentence upheld for man who raped nephew

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld a January Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to over 10 years in prison after convicting him of raping his nephew in the Jordan Valley in September of last year.

The Criminal Court had found the man guilty of raping and attempting to molest his eight-year-old nephew in Northern Shouneh in late September and handed him a prison term of 10 years and eight months.

Court papers said the victim returned home on September 21 and “could not sit on the floor when his mother gave him his dinner”.

“When his mother asked him what was wrong, he informed her that his uncle had molested him twice while allowing him to play with his mobile phone,” court papers said.

The victim’s family pressed charges against the uncle and, when arrested, “he confessed to molesting his nephew and claimed that he was drunk during both incidents”, according to court transcripts. 

The Cassation Court, which issued its ruling late last month, ruled that the Criminal Court’s ruling falls within the law, that the proceedings were proper and that the sentence given was satisfactory.

The Court of Cassation comprised President of the Court of Cassation Judge Hisham Tell and judges Basel Abu Anzeh, Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zu’bi and Mohammad Tarawneh.