Police arrest two suspects in gang rape of woman in Tel Aviv

Police say they have arrested two suspects in the gang rape of a woman in Tel Aviv.

According to a police statement, the victim — a foreigner — knew one of the suspects prior to the assault and met with him at a club in Tel Aviv.

At the end of the night he offered to give her a ride home, but he and the second suspect drove the victim to another location where they seriously sexually assaulted her after drugging her.

Police say the suspects are a 25-year-old and a 26-year-old from East Jerusalem.

Arrests and prosecutions in sexual assaults are generally rare, as are statements by the police on cases.

According to the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, one in seven women is raped during her lifetime and 85 percent of sexual assaults are carried out by someone the victim knows. In 2019, the organization said nine out of 10 rape cases are closed by prosecutors without charge.