Gynecologist accused of sexually assaulting patients released to house arrest
Guy Rofe to stay at his parents’ home starting Thursday evening, giving police time to look into fresh allegations
Haifa Magistrate’s Court on Thursday released to house arrest a gynecologist who is suspected of sexually abusing multiple patients.
Guy Rofe, 45, a resident of the northern city, has been accused by several women of indecent acts, and two have filed police complaints with over alleged incidents in 2016.
The court ordered that Rofe remain under house arrest until January 20. Rofe has already been in custody for 11 days following his arrest at the beginning of the month. He will serve out the house arrest at his parents’ home.
However, the court ruled that he should remain in custody until 6 p.m. so that police can question him about a fresh complaint by a woman who claims he molested her when she was a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, the Ynet news site reported.
Rofe was prohibited from making contact for 20 days with any of the women who have leveled accusations against him, and from engaging in medical practice for 30 days, the report said.
The court has previously said there was concern Rofe could disrupt the investigation if he was released from custody.
Last week police told the court that they were dropping a rape accusation that had been filed against Rofe. According to reports, at least eight complaints of indecent acts by Rofe have been filed with the Health Ministry.
Furthermore, at least 15 women have testified on social media or in Hebrew media reports about a pattern in which Rofe would obsessively send them private messages with sexual content, while assaulting them during treatment sessions.
That included touching patients against their will; inserting fingers; pressuring them to hug him, kiss him, take off their clothes or take unnecessary mammography tests; making sexual advances on them; and in one case, offering a woman a job as a secretary that would require her to regularly have sex with him.
Rofe denies all the accusations against him.
The doctor, who has tens of thousands of Instagram followers and has posted many viral posts about gynecology, informed all his patients after his arrest was reported in media that he was stepping down from his medical work “due to personal circumstances.” He didn’t say whether it was a temporary break or a permanent move.
