Police officer accused of sexually assaulting woman who filed complaint at station
Alleged victim says cop assaulted her after insisting on taking her home; says when he heard of accusation, he came back to try to persuade her to withdraw it
A police officer was arrested Saturday on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman he had escorted to her home after she visited a Tel Aviv police station to file a complaint on another matter.
The Police Internal Investigations Department, which is a branch of the Justice Ministry, said in a statement that after the alleged assault, the police officer tried to persuade the woman to not file a complaint against him.
The woman, aged around 20, arrived at a Tel Aviv police station on Friday to file a complaint on an unspecified matter, according to unsourced Hebrew media reports.
The officer then asked her if she wanted to be driven home, which she initially declined. However, he insisted and she eventually agreed.
The woman reportedly did not initially give him her home address, but the officer eventually persuaded her to reveal it. When they arrived at the location, he entered the home with her and then allegedly committed a sex offense.
According to the woman, the officer then told her not to complain about the alleged assault, but as soon as he left she called the police and explained what had happened.
The PIID said the officer was immediately located and questioned under caution.
The accused officer, who by now knew of the accusations, reportedly then returned to the woman’s home and asked her to withdraw the complaint, which she refused to do.
The officer was arrested Saturday and questioned under caution on suspicion of committing an indecent act, obstructing justice, and obstructing an investigation, the PIID said.
He was set to attend a remand hearing Sunday at the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court.
Hagit Pe’er, chair of the women’s rights organization Na’amat, said in a statement it was “a shocking case that increases distrust in the systems.”
“For years we have been calling on women to be courageous and complain to the police,” yet the person who was supposed to be protecting a woman “allegedly attacked her and even threatened her not to complain [about him].”
Pe’er said that incident illustrated why women feared going to the police, and lamented, “There are still those who dare to attack women who air their accusations on social media rather than going to the police.”
