Ex-general repeats innocence as sex crimes trial opens

Ofek Buchris, an IDF general accused of rape and other sex crimes against two female subordinates, is innocent, his lawyer Oded Savoray said at the opening of his trial at a military court in Tel Aviv on Thursday.

Buchris faces 16 charges — three of rape, one of sodomy and six of indecent acts against a lower-ranking female soldier, identified as A., and a further six counts of indecent acts against a second female soldier, known as L. He was indicted in July for crimes alleged to have taken place between 2010 and 2012.

Under Israeli law, sodomy constitutes either oral or anal sex when the perpetrator exploits “authority in the workplace or in [national] service.”

The plaintiffs have accused him of committing these offenses in several locations, among them his office, his car and his living quarters.

Buchris agreed earlier in the week to face his accusers within the framework of “non-binding arbitration” before a former military advocate general, Ilan Schiff.

The idea is to save the plaintiffs from a long legal process, Channel 10 News said.

He officially resigned from the Israel Defense Forces in order to manage his legal defense as a civilian.

Reports of the initial allegations in March sent shock waves through the IDF and the rest of the country, as Buchris’s previously glowing reputation was suddenly called into question.

According to reports at the time, the first soldier to make allegations told investigators that she knew of another soldier, a Golani officer, who had been sexually assaulted by Buchris as well. Several days later, the second woman came forward and accused Buchris.