State seeks community service for former top cop convicted of indecent act
Former Jerusalem police chief Nissan Shaham was largely acquitted in April of sex offense-related charges when a court ruled most of his encounters with subordinates not a crime
Prosecutors on Monday requested the Tel Aviv District Court to sentence former Jerusalem police chief Nissan “Niso” Shaham to six months’ community service for engaging in indecent conduct toward a subordinate more than six years ago.
Shaham was convicted of indecent conduct in April, but was acquitted of nearly a dozen other charges filed against him over alleged sexual relationships with numerous female officers under his command. The district court threw out one count of sexual harassment, five counts of breach of trust and another count of indecent behavior.
Prosecutors had claimed that on multiple occasions Shaham had coerced policewomen into sleeping with him, and later made decisions about their careers.
Judge Benny Sagi ruled in his decision at the time that other than in one instance, Shaham’s encounters with the junior officers were consensual and did not constitute a criminal offense.
“Despite the conflict of interests, his decisions regarding the police officers he was involved with… were justified,” he wrote in his decision.
The court convicted Shaham on one count of indecent behavior for kissing a police officer against her will in 2012.
Throughout the investigation and trial, Shaham repeatedly refused to sign a plea deal that would have seen him plead guilty to the breach of trust charges.
After his April conviction Shaham called the accusations against him “delusional” and untrue, and said the entire investigation was “much ado about nothing.”
At Monday’s sentencing hearing, Shaham said he was “determined” to appeal his conviction.
The Times of Israel Community.