Man sentenced to four years in prison for electronic

The Grand Criminal Court sentenced a man to four years in prison for electronically sexually abusing a woman in her thirties.

The defendant attempted to use threats to get the woman to send him explicit images and videos via Snapchat. Fearing his threats, the woman complied with his request. The defendant then took screenshots and recorded the videos, which he then sent to her husband.

According to Roya’s findings, the victim met the accused through Snapchat. They began talking on the phone, with the accused claiming that he was in the business of selling mobile and electronic devices.

The accused asked the victim to send him a picture of herself in house clothes. She complied and sent several photos, including one in which she left her head uncovered. He then escalated his demands and asked her to undress during a video call. When she refused, he threatened to publish the photos he had.

The decision highlighted that the victim had received several threatening phone calls from two unknown women who urged her to comply with the defendant’s demands. Under the weight of these threats and circumstances that nullified her resistance and consent, the defendant forced her to make a video call during which she undressed.

The accused recorded the conversation by taking screenshots and later demanded that she repeat her actions. When she refused, he published the video and photos and sent them to her husband. Following this, the victim left her marital home.

In a public hearing, the court found the defendant guilty of sexual abuse under Article 296/1 of the Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 26 of the Cybercrime Law. This resulted in a prison sentence of four years.

In addition, the defendant was convicted under Article 18/b of the Cybercrime Law for using social media to threaten and compel someone to perform an act, attributing dishonorable and degrading things to them, for which he received an additional three years of hard labor and a fine of JD 5,000.

The court also convicted the defendant of the offence of publishing a recording, image or video intended for private use with the intent to defame and harm under Article 20/a of the Cybercrime Law, resulting in a three-month prison sentence and a fine of JD 20,000.

In addition, the defendant was found guilty of extortion and threat under Article 18/a of the Cybercrime Law, which resulted in a one-year prison sentence and a fine of 3,000 dinars. The charge of corruption of the marital relationship was dropped because it was included in the General Amnesty Law No. 5 of 2024.

The court imposed the most severe sentence on the defendant and sentenced him to four years of hard labor.