Palestinian indicted for sexual assault of Israeli girl, 13, in Ashdod

Indictments were filed Sunday against a Palestinian man suspected of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old Israeli girl he befriended while doing renovation work near her home.

Prosecutors filed charges of sexual assault and indecent acts at the Beersheba District Court against Ashraf Karga, 38, from Halhul, north of Hebron in the West Bank.

According to court papers, the suspect befriended the girl while working on a construction project at an apartment building close to the girl’s home in the southern city of Ashdod. After they became acquainted, the suspect took the girl to the building he was working on, where he sexually assaulted her on a number of occasions, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors asked that Karga be held until the end of proceedings.

After an investigation was opened in late May, police said Karga fled to the West Bank. He was arrested earlier this month following a manhunt. At the time, Hebrew-language media reported he voluntarily turned himself in to police when he heard he was wanted in Israel, and that he denied the allegations against him.

The court banned release of the full indictment to protect the identity of the alleged victim.