AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld on Saturday a 2023 Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to five years in prison after convicting him of sexually assaulting a teenage boy in Amman in November 2022.

 

The court declared the defendant guilty of molesting a 16-year-old boy on Nov. 3.

 

The defendant was handed the maximum punishment by the court.

 

Court papers said that the victim was leaving a billiard place where he met with the defendant.

 

"The defendant lured the victim to his house where he sexually molested him after undressing him at gunpoint," the court added.

 

The defendant then took photos of the teenage boy while naked, the court maintained.

 

The victim returned home and did not inform his family, court papers added.

 

One month later, the court maintained, the victim learnt that the defendant had "sent his naked photos to people in his neighbourhood and alerted his family of the incident."

 

The victim's family filed a complaint against the defendant, the court stated.

 

The defendant did not appeal his verdict at a higher court.

 

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

 

The higher court ruled that the Criminal Court proceedings were accurate and that the defendant was given the appropriate punishment.

 

Therefore, he deserves the punishment he received, the higher court added.

 

The Court of Cassation was headed by Judge Mahmoud Ebtoush and included judges Rizeq Abul Fool, Fawzy Nahar, Majid Rafaya and Ibrahim Abu Shamma.