The Amman Grand Criminal Court has sentenced a man to three years of hard labor after he deceived a woman into believing she was legally married to him, using a forged marriage contract.

The man did not stop at the fake marriage contract but also claimed he would obtain personal identification cards and passports for her and her three siblings, after securing Jordanian nationality for them.

The case dates back to 2023 when the accused rekindled a relationship with the complainant, which had started five years earlier over the phone. Despite knowing that the complainant lacked personal identification, which would prevent a legal marriage, he persuaded her to agree to marry him.

According to the court's findings, the accused took the complainant to perform the medical examination required for marriage, pretending to arrange the marriage at the Sharia Court and even conducted some procedures to make her believe that he was processing their marriage.

He later told her that the contract could not be completed without a personal ID.

The accused also informed the complainant that he would arrange for her and her siblings to obtain personal identification and passports after acquiring Jordanian citizenship for them.

The court discovered that the accused had sent the complainant a picture of a forged marriage contract via WhatsApp, misleading her to believe that she became his wife from that moment. Believing his claims, the complainant accompanied him to a furnished apartment where he engaged in sexual acts with her before leaving the apartment.

He then handed her a personal ID in her name, claiming he had obtained it for her, along with a document resembling a marriage registration issued by a Sharia court judge and birth certificates for her siblings.

The complainant became suspicious of the accused and upon checking with the Civil Status and Passports Department, she was informed that the documents were forged. A technical examination confirmed that the models and documents were incorrect and forged.

The court's decision revealed that the accused had taken money from the complainant and her mother, claiming it was for the fees and expenses of obtaining these documents from relevant authorities. The accused had lied and had not undertaken any actual procedures to obtain these documents, which did not exist.

The court convicted the accused of sexual assault and forgery during a public session, also finding him guilty of fraud and misuse of a public administration's seal for illegitimate purposes.