Top doctor charged with raping patient’s mom, sexually assaulting minors in his care

Prosecutors ask that pediatric gastroenterologist Arie Levine be barred from working; suspect is accused of assault under the guise of medical tests, treatments

Prof. Arie Levine appears at Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court on October 4, 2021 (Screen grab/Channel 12 news)
Prof. Arie Levine appears at Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court on October 4, 2021 (Screen grab/Channel 12 news)

A senior doctor suspected of raping the mother of a patient and sexually assaulting four minors under his care was indicted on Thursday.

Prof. Arie Levine was initially arrested last year, and has been rearrested and questioned since then.

According to the indictment, Levine, 64, committed sexual offenses against his patients under the false claim that they were required tests and medical treatments.

In addition, he is accused of raping the mother of a young patient when she came to his office to collect documents relating to her son.

In one case, he is suspected of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl during a medical appointment.

He is also accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl who was hospitalized, as well as two other patients.

Prosecutors asked the court that Levine, director of the Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition Unit at Holon’s Wolfson Medical Center, who also practices at a private clinic, be banned from working or even going to the hospital.

Some of the alleged offenses were committed at the hospital, and others at the clinic.

“The acts were committed by the respondent while severely exploiting the trust placed in him by the complainants and their families, the complainants’ complete dependence, their innocence and gaps in their knowledge,” prosecutors said.

“[Levine] took advantage of the need for contact and physical examination in the treatment of the complainants’ illness, as well as the fact that they were helpless while completely exposed to him. The evidence shows that the respondent committed the acts against the complainants while they were at a low point in their lives,” prosecutors said.

When the case first came to light, investigators feared that dozens may have been assaulted over a number of years at the hospital and at Levine’s private clinic under the guise of medical treatments.

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