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AMMAN: Jordan’s Criminal Court has sentenced three men to increased prison terms ranging from 40 to 45 years, the longest ever handed down by the country’s courts.

They were convicted of abducting and sexually assaulting women in 2020.

Two were sentenced to more than 45 years in prison, while the third received a 40-year prison sentence, all with hard labor, after being convicted of charges of sodomy, abduction, molestation, and assault on five women.

According to court papers, a copy of which was seen by Arab News, the three defendants plotted to sexually assault women and stole a car to carry out their “evil acts.”

The charge sheet said the defendants wore masks to cover their faces and would approach young men and women who would be sitting in their cars and “show up as police officers or security agents.”

The court said the defendants would ask the women to accompany them and would beat up the men who had been with them in the vehicles.

“The three men would then drive to different cities (outside Amman), park the stolen car in deserted areas and sexually assault the victims,” the court papers said.

The charge sheet also said the defendants would then give their victims a gallon of gasoline or water and ask them to “wash their private parts to erase any evidence.”

Receiving complaints from the male victims who were with the abducted females, police were able to arrest the three defendants, the court said.

A judicial source, who requested anonymity, said that the court decided to increase the prison terms from 30 years to 40 and 45 years “given the severity of their crimes.”

They added: “It’s a stomach-turning crime and an unprecedented crime in Jordanian history.”

The source also confirmed that the prison terms imposed on the three defendants were the “longest ever in Jordan’s judicial history.”

The verdicts were issued last week and will be automatically reassessed by the Court of Cassation within 30 days according to the law.