Deputy police chief suspected of sexual assault

The senior police officer suspected of sexually assaulting a subordinate officer was named Monday afternoon as Deputy Commissioner Nissim Mor.

Mor, once a contender for police commissioner, is accused of sexually harassing and assaulting a policewoman, as well as carrying on inappropriate relationships with other female subordinates.

Commissioner Yohanan Danino said Monday that the Israel Police required a “root canal.”

“This is, on the face of it, a very severe incident,” Danino said at a press conference addressing the allegations against Mor. “It is part of a series of incidents involving senior officers that damaged public trust.”

Mor is the fifth senior police officer accused of misconduct, sexual or otherwise, since 2013.

He was questioned by internal investigators early Monday morning and released. He is also suspected of obstructing the investigation, as detectives believe he may have deleted incriminating text messages from his mobile phone after being summoned for questioning. He was suspended from service.

“The officer was questioned over suspicions that, in recent months, he used his position of authority to sexually harass a low-ranking policewoman who was in need of his assistance, including (one case of) indecent assault against her,” a police statement said.

Officials were looking into allegations that the officer also had improper relationships, consensual or otherwise, with six or seven other junior policewomen. Several of the women have already been summoned to give testimony.

Police said the allegations came to light after the woman at the center of the case told of her experience to another officer, who in turn relayed the allegations to the internal affairs unit of the police.

He was the sixth police major-general — the highest rank in the force after the commissioner — to be investigated in recent years.

Last Saturday, Judea and Samaria District Commander Kobi Cohen announced his resignation after admitting to an improper relationship with a subordinate officer.

Cohen quit after being questioned over suspicions that he had maintained romantic ties with a low-ranking female officer and had made decisions regarding her positions that were based on a conflict of interest.

He joined a long line of top police officials who recently left the force under troubling circumstances: former Jerusalem district police chief Nissan “Niso” Shaham, who was dismissed in late 2013 over allegations of sexual harassment, breach of trust, fraud and indecent acts; top anti-corruption police official Menashe Arviv, who resigned in 2014 amid allegations that he received thousands of dollars and other assistance from a rabbi accused of corruption; and Central District chief Bruno Stein, who resigned after he was spotted at a party thrown by Ronel Fisher, an Israeli attorney under investigation for allegedly bribing multiple police officials.