Teenager sentenced to death for raping minor

The Criminal Court has sentenced a 19-year-old man to death for raping a minor in one of the Kingdom's governorates on June 3, 2010. The court declared U.A. guilty of abducting and raping a 14-year-girl to take revenge against the victim's brother who accused the defendant of abducting his cousin. The court acquitted three other men of rape charges for lack of evidence. Court transcripts said the defendant, who was unemployed, abducted the victim when she went to the bakery to buy bread. "The defendant took the victim to a tent and raped her," the eight-page verdict said, adding that he kept her in the tent for three days until she managed to escape and alerted the authorities. In its ruling the court relied on the testimony of a forensic expert who confirmed that the victim was raped and on criminal lab reports that indicated that the DNA samples found on the victim matched that of the defendant. The tribunal comprised judges Ahmad Atoun, Nahar Ghazo and Mohammad Amarin. The Cassation Court has 30 days to start reviewing the verdict, which was issued by the Criminal Court in mid-July.