Ex-senior cop convicted of sexual harassment

A former deputy Israel Police commissioner was convicted on Thursday in an internal police disciplinary court of sexual harassment and conduct unbecoming to an officer, five months after signing a plea bargain and admitting to the charges against him.

Hagai Dotan will reappear before the tribunal to receive his sentence at a later date. He will not face criminal charges, as part of the plea deal.

Dotan admitted that on multiple occasions, he approached female officers under his command and made sexually explicit remarks to them. Among other remarks, Dotan told one female subordinate that “I would die to kiss you,” according to the indictment.

Dotan’s case broke a year ago among a slew of sexual harassment claims lodged against top Israel Police officers, leading to a crisis within the force and calls for the police to clean house.

Dotan resigned from the Israel Police last September under a cloud of accusations. The allegations against him came to light after several women lodged a complaint with the internal affairs unit last year.

Dotan, 55, took command of the Israel Police coastal district in 2011.

The past few years have seen a string of sexual misconduct cases involving top police officers, many of whom were forced to retire due to the allegations against them. In all, about half of the Israel Police’s major generals — the highest rank below that of the police commissioner — have been accused of such abuses, and many of them have stepped down.

Last December, Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich announced that a senior police officer accused of sexual harassment would be reinstated in his position as head of the force’s anti-corruption unit and no disciplinary action would be taken against him.

The commissioner made the decision to reinstall Maj. Gen. Roni Rittman as commander of Lahav 433 “after a broad and thorough discussion, in the framework of which he was presented with recommendations of the disciplinary department of the human resources department and the recommendations of the police legal adviser,” a police statement said.

“There are no real grounds for any administrative or even disciplinary measures, even if the statute of limitations weren’t applicable, and Rittman will therefore remain in his post,” it added.