IDF officer charged with sexual assault of 3 female subordinates

Second lieutenant faces 11 counts of sodomy and forcible indecent acts that he allegedly committed ‘using his command authority’

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

Illustrative: Military Police soldiers escort an arrested soldier at the Jaffa Military Court, on August 18, 2009. (Flash90)
Illustrative: Military Police soldiers escort an arrested soldier at the Jaffa Military Court, on August 18, 2009. (Flash90)

An IDF officer has been indicted on several counts of sexual assault against three of his subordinates, Israeli television reported Friday.

According to the Kan public broadcaster, a female soldier filed a complaint against the officer after she was released from the military. The IDF then located two other enlisted soldiers who were also allegedly sexually assaulted by the officer, the report said.

The military said the officer, who holds the rank of second lieutenant, was charged on February 3 with sodomy and forcible indecent acts toward female soldiers under his command. Kan said there were 11 charges in total.

The alleged crimes took place between 2019 and 2021.

“Most of the offenses were committed using force and using his command authority,” the IDF said.

His remand has been extended until the end of legal proceedings.

The officer’s name was not immediately published.

The incident comes after a military tribunal last month sentenced an officer to a year and a half in jail for secretly filming dozens of female soldiers in intimate situations.

Lt. Rom Abergil pled guilty to 45 counts of indecent acts and attempted sexual harassment. At least 30 victims were identified in the investigation, first published by the Ynet news site last year.

There were two other recent high-profile incidents of alleged sexual offenses against female soldiers.

Lt. Col. Dan Sharoni was indicted in December with 79 charges related to his alleged filming of dozens of his subordinates while they were nude and without their knowledge, and collecting sexual images of soldiers, as well as some civilians, over the course of at least eight years.

And also in December, an officer in an elite unit of the navy was charged with three counts of rape against another soldier in a case that roiled the service branch.

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