A deputy head of the police’s major crimes division was put under house arrest this week over suspicions of sexual harassment, the Justice Ministry said Thursday.
Yaakov Lopez, the head of the prosecution division at the Israel Police’s Lahav 433 serious crimes unit, is suspected of having committed verbal sexual harassment against several women on the police force, according to the ministry, which lifted a gag order on the case Thursday.
Lopez was detained and questioned for several days before being sent to house arrest for five days as a probe into the case continues.
The allegations against Lopez are the latest in a spate of cases involving senior police officers accused of sexually harassing their subordinates, leading to a serious crisis within the force and calls for police officials to clean house.
Deputy Commissioner Hagai Dotan and Beersheba police commander Moshe Ivgi were dismissed from the police force in February amid sexual harassment charges against them.
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Stuart Winer and Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.
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