Investigator says evidence against singer Golan weak

A senior investigator probing allegations that popular Mizrahi singer Eyal Golan is involved in a sex scandal with underage girls says evidence gathered against him thus far is shaky and he may not be charged.

Golan was interrogated by police and released to house arrest Wednesday, nearly a week after news of a probe into allegations against him and several others was revealed.

His name, kept under gag order, was released Wednesday, though two other people arrested in the case, a party promoter and public relations professional, remain under wraps. They were also released to house arrest.

Two more people, Golan’s father and an agent, remain under arrest and will be arraigned Thursday.

According to testimony collected by investigators, people close to Golan, including his father, would locate girls, often during the singer’s performances, and bring them to rented rooms for evenings that included sexual intercourse, drug use and expensive gifts. Two girls have reportedly come forward and said they had sex with Golan when they were underage.

A senior official involved in the case told Israel Radio investigators are unsure there is enough evidence to indict Golan in the case. The unnamed police official said testimony from the girls was contradictory. He added that Golan was arrested on lesser suspicions of consensual non-statutory sexual relations, a sign of the case’s weakness.

The scandal broke last Wednesday when it was revealed by Channel 2 News that the police had been investigating allegations against two famous entertainers for three months. According to a Sunday report in Ynet, authorities have interviewed at least five girls in connection with the case, although only two, including the latest accuser, have admitted to having sex with one of the famous singers.

Tel Aviv police said Sunday that a young woman has come forward to claim she had sexual relations with one of the accused when she was underage. She was 14 at the time, she said, and had slept with one of the men in exchange for gifts. The minimum age for sexual consent under Israeli law is 16.

Before Golan could be identified, a police source told Ynet that “We have to verify everything” before proceeding further with the case,” adding that evidence provided by minors is “not always exact.” The police official insisted “it is clear” that people around the singer engaged in spotting and bringing girls to after-show parties.

According to media reports last week, the suspects may have smoked marijuana with at least two girls with whom they had sex — and possibly engaged in group sex with several other underage girls — in an apartment rented for that purpose.

Channel 1 accidentally revealed Golan’s name on the 9 p.m. news last Thursday evening, with the anchor immediately correcting himself. Still, the damage had been done: By late last week, most Israelis had put together the pieces of the puzzle.

Also last Thursday, a leading blogger was arrested for publishing Golan’s name and saw his blog taken down. One of the singers responded to the blogger’s accusation with a threatening post on his private Facebook page, in effect confirming he was one of the accused.

“To all my fans and the people who love me, I am aware of the character assassination that is being done to me. All is well with me, praise God. I’m working, performing and partying. I love you all,” the singer wrote.

On Friday, a top party promoter, said to have been one of those who arranged dalliances with the underage girls, spoke to both Channel 2 and Ynet and denied the allegation that he had procured underage girls for the famous singers. He insisted that one of the singers, his client, was innocent.

The promoter said neither he nor the singer was involved in a sex scandal. “I never procured any underage girls for any singers,” he told Channel 2.

“A great injustice has been done to many people,” he said. Of the accusations, he commented, “It’s just a rumor [spread by] jealous people. These singers are classy, people who have everything in life. They don’t concern themselves with nonsense,” he added.