Family of alleged rape victim pushes back amid reports that case falling apart

An attorney representing the family of a 7-year-old girl who was allegedly raped by a Palestinian custodian at her school urged prosecutors and police Thursday to publicly clarify the status of the case, which has been clouded by reports of flimsy evidence and a botched investigation.

Police arrested Mahmoud Qadusa on May 1 on suspicion that the school maintenance worker had kidnapped an ultra-Orthodox girl from a school in a central West Bank settlement. He has been in jail since, but questions have been raised about the strength of the case and the reliability of the testimony of the victim. No other witnesses have come forward.

The case, which was made public at the beginning of the week, provoked public outrage and calls from right-wing politicians that the suspect be investigated on terror charges, with some demanding that Qadusa be executed.

While unofficial statements from law enforcement figures have pointed to the case possibly falling apart, there have been few public statements on the status of the case beyond the announcement of the indictment on Sunday and a statement days later that police were being tasked with reopening the investigation and shoring up evidence.

On Thursday Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan acknowledged that police could well have botched the investigation.

Police have come under fire after details of the indictment against Qadusa, 46, which were leaked to the press revealed that it had relied almost exclusively on the testimony of the 7-year-old, had no forensic evidence to back her testimony, and had changed its account regarding where the alleged incident had taken place.

Qadusa’s family have vociferously denied the charges and his lawyer has predicted he will be set free.

Attorney Tal Gabay, who is representing the family of the girl, said media reports of the case falling apart were unfounded, but “we have not heard from any authorized entity in the system dispelling the rumor mill or, alternatively, noting what is going to happen [next].”

“We are calling on the enforcement authorities to stand up and make everything clear,” Gabay told Channel 12 news.

While he conceded that some aspects of the investigation “could have been done in a better way,” Gabay said “it is a long way from that to canceling the indictment.”

He claimed the evidence and the girl’s positive identification of the suspect “leaves no room for doubt that the girl experienced a shocking sexual incident at the hands of the defendant.”

Gabay also dismissed a report on the news channel that the parents of the girl and school officials had waited some 10 days before reporting the incident to police or reviewing security footage.

There was no comment from the school.

On Wednesday, a military court judge halved a request by the prosecution to order Qadusa be kept in custody for 10 more days.

In a joint statement at the time, police and the army said prosecutors told the court more time was needed to complete the investigation in light of new evidence in the case, as well as to try and verify the suspicions against Qadusa.

A judicial source speaking to Israeli media on condition of anonymity Wednesday said the prosecution could drop the charges if the evidence is not bolstered in the coming days.