A man has filed a sexual assault complaint against ZAKA cofounder and chairman Yehuda Meshi-Zahav, a week after a bombshell media report detailing allegations by six people who claim the prominent ultra-Orthodox figure sexually assaulted them, including accusations of rape.
Police opened an investigation against Meshi-Zahav following the Haaretz daily report detailing allegations against him, but initially struggled to find anyone who would actually file a complaint.
The alleged victim, reportedly a man in his 40s, arrived at the Lahav 433 serious crime unit and told investigators that Meshi-Zahav molested him when he was 14, legally a minor, including trying to rape him. According to Hebrew media reports, the man said that the assaults continued for a period of time.
Though the man’s complaint apparently cannot be prosecuted due to the statute of limitations, it could serve to bolster future complaints that are able to go to trial.
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