Locked the door, punched and pulled hair: Border Police commander charged with assaulting a policewoman and indecent assault
Itamar Karko, a squad commander in the Judea and Samaria Border Police, is accused of taking a young policewoman to a club on the Abu Dis base after a joint shift, locking the door and blocking it with a broomstick. According to the indictment, as part of a "hazing game," he repeatedly hit her, pulled her hair, and subsequently brought her face close to his genitals without her consent.
What began, according to the indictment, as an "initiation ceremony" for a young policewoman at a Border Police base, turned into a violent and humiliating incident. The Department of Internal Police Investigations (DIPI) filed an indictment today (Wednesday) at the Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court against Itamar Karko, a squad commander in the Judea and Samaria Border Police, for simple assault and indecent assault against a policewoman who served with him.
The indictment, filed through attorney Lidor Malko, describes the events that took place at the Abu Dis base. Karko was drafted into the Border Police in November 2023. The complainant, whose name is under a gag order and is referred to in the indictment as 'A', was drafted into the Border Police in August 2024, and the two served together at the base.
According to the indictment, on February 19, 2025, at night and after the two finished a joint shift, they went to a building used as a club on the base. The purpose of arriving at the place, it is claimed, was to hold a "humiliating and violent initiation ceremony" that veteran police officers conduct for younger officers as part of what was called in the unit a "hazing game." Upon entering the club, it is claimed, Karko locked the door and even blocked the handle using a broomstick.
Punches to the ribs and stomach and hair pulling
In the first stage, according to the indictment, Karko ordered the policewoman to turn her back to him and place her hands on one of the refrigerators in the place. She complied with the order as part of that "hazing game," and then Karko began asking her questions. Every time she got an answer wrong, it is claimed that he hit her hard in the ribs with his fist. DIPI claims that this was repeated on about 15 occasions.
Later, he ordered her to turn around and remove the jacket she was wearing. The questions continued, and according to the indictment, when she gave wrong answers, Karko hit her with his fist in her stomach. DIPI attributes five additional blows to him in this manner.
After that, it is claimed that Karko began pulling the policewoman's hair every time she got an answer wrong. At a certain stage, he asked her if she was tired, and when she answered in the negative, he continued to pull her hair.
According to the indictment: pulled her by her hair until she knelt between his legs
According to the indictment, at a certain stage the incident took on a sexual nature. Karko grabbed the policewoman's face with both hands and sat on a chair with his legs spread. He ordered her to approach him, and then pulled her hair hard until she knelt on her knees between his legs.
"While holding her face, he pulled her towards him and brought her face close to his genitals, without her consent," the indictment states.
The policewoman managed to break free from his grip in a panic and stood up. After that, the two left the club. The Department of Internal Police Investigations claims that by his actions, Karko illegally assaulted the policewoman and performed an act on her for the purpose of sexual arousal, gratification, or humiliation without her consent.
