Eight years in jail for man who grabbed 9-year-old

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a January Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to eight years in prison after convicting him of molesting a girl in Amman in June 2017.

The court declared the defendant guilty of molesting the nine-year-old girl while at a shop on June 26 and handed him the maximum punishment.

On the day of the incident, the victim went to a supermarket near her house to buy juice for her family, the court said, adding “while the victim was bending down to grab the juice, the defendant put his hand on her butt”.

The child looked at the victim and he “pretended that he grabbed her by mistake”, according to court documents, which added that the victim returned home and informed her family who contacted the police.

The defendant contested the Criminal Court’s ruling, through his lawyer, claiming that “he was subjected to torture in order to confess”.

“The investigators tricked my client into confessing by telling him that he will be released once he confessed,” the defendant charged.

However, the higher court ruled that the Criminal Court followed the proper procedures when sentencing the defendant and that he deserved the verdict he received.

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zubi, Yassin Abdullat, Hamad Ghzawi, and Majid Azab.