High-profile rape suspect released to house arrest

Lie detector determines Yaakov Felician, brother of 2009 Bar Noar murder suspect, told truth about relations with complainant

Adiv Sterman is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.

Yaakov Felician in Petah Tikva magistrate's court (photo credit: screen capture/Walla News)
Yaakov Felician in Petah Tikva magistrate's court (photo credit: screen capture/Walla News)

Police on Sunday confirmed that Yaakov Felician, who was arrested last week on suspicion of raping a criminal lawyer, was released from custody and will be placed under house arrest. Felician, the brother of the prime suspect in the 2009 Bar Noar murder case, will be confined to the family attorney’s home for 15 days, authorities said.

Felician was arrested last week after the attorney filed a complaint with police claiming she was raped by Felician during a meeting to discuss her representation of his brother Haggai, held at a warehouse Yaakov owns in Petah Tikva.

Felician denied the allegations and asserted the relations between him and the lawyer were consensual. Felician added that he had left the warehouse upon the lawyer’s request.

Police said that a lie detector test given to Felician during his hearing indicated he was telling the truth regarding his relations with the lawyer.

“All of the objective witnesses show that the complainant is a liar,” said Felician’s defense attorney, Moshe Yochai. “She is lying; anyone who listens to her speech will see how big the lie is.”

Earlier Sunday, Ynet released an interview with the criminal lawyer — who remains anonymous — in which she restated her accusations against Felician.

Last week, Haggai Felician confessed to an undercover officer planted in his jail cell that he had carried out a deadly shooting attack at the Bar Noar in 2009. As a result of the shootings, counselor Nir Katz, 26, and 16-year-old Liz Trubeshi were killed and dozens were injured. Approximately 40 people were present at the center that night.

On Sunday, the Tel Aviv magistrate’s court extended the remand of Haggai Felician for five days. A source in the court system said that in light of the amount of evidence revealed, Felician will almost certainly be indicted within the coming days.

Most Popular
read more: