Jerusalem man indicted for assaulting 3 brothers in mikveh

The Jerusalem prosecution said Sunday it filed an indictment against a Jerusalem man on suspicion that he sexually assaulted three brothers over a period of two years when they bathed at a ritual bathhouse.

Charges of sex acts with minors, indecent assault and sodomy were filed against Chaim Shragai, 66, at the Jerusalem District Court, prosecutors said in a statement.

According to the indictment, Shragai assaulted his victims, now aged 13-16, on numerous occasions when they individually visited a mikveh, a bathhouse where patrons immerse themselves naked in a small pool.

Court papers said Shragai, an acquaintance of the victims’ father, forced himself on the plaintiffs and contacted them by phone to encourage them to visit the bathhouse. He would also give them money after committing the acts.

On one occasion when one of the brothers tried to escape his clutches, Shragai allegedly blocked the exit and threatened to tell his parents about previous encounters they had and to lock him in mikveh.

The prosecutor asked that he be held until the end of the legal proceedings.