22-year-old sentenced to prison for affair with minor

AMMAN — The Criminal Court has sentenced a 22-year-old man to seven years in prison for engaging in consensual sex with a minor in an Amman neighbourhood in 2013.

The defendant, an electrician, was convicted of engaging in consensual sex with the 17-year-old minor four times in the month of July and was handed the maximum sentence.

Court papers said the defendant and the minor knew each other for two months before the incident.

“The defendant took the victim to the roof of his building and engaged in sexual activities with her twice,” the court said.

Two weeks later, the court added, the defendant rented a house and “repeated his offence twice”.

The tribunal comprised judges Fawzi Nahar, Hussein Tharaba and Mohammad Udwan.

The Court of Cassation is currently reviewing the verdict, which was issued in mid-March.

Under Article 294 of the Penal Code, sex with a minor over 15 is punished with no less than seven years in prison. If the minor is between the ages of 12 and 15, the punishment is at least a 15-year prison term.

The punishment for sex with a minor under 12 is the death penalty, according to the Penal Code.