Deputy Mayor of Rishon LeZion suspected of sex crimes: "The complaint against me is employee revenge" | This is his version

The Rishon LeZion Magistrate's Court extended today, Thursday, until August 10, the detention of the Deputy Mayor of Rishon LeZion, who is suspected of sex crimes against a municipal employee. The police requested to extend his detention by eight days, but Judge Israel Pat determined that five days are sufficient at this stage. In his decision, he wrote that "there is a ground for detention due to danger, which is intensified in light of the investigations already conducted in the case," and added that there is also a real fear of obstruction of the investigation.

The suspect is accused of crimes of penetration into a woman's body without free consent, an indecent act without free consent, and penetration into the body of a woman over 18 while exploiting authority in employment relations.

During the hearing, the police representative, Adv. Menachem Stein Schneider, revealed that the investigation began after a complaint was received from a municipal employee on August 2. According to him, the investigation material reveals a suspicion of two separate incidents of sex crimes committed, allegedly, while exploiting authority. He also said that the complainant gave three statements to the police, and after covert investigative actions and the suspect's detention for questioning, it was decided to arrest him.

The police believe that the affair may be broader. "There are other people involved in the case and the investigative unit continues to collect testimonies," said the police representative. "According to the investigation material, the events began as early as 2021. For several years, the victim, and apparently other victims as well, did not share what they went through. We are in the early stages of the investigation and estimate that more details will emerge later."

One of the central issues in the hearing was the police's request to allow the publication of the suspect's name. The police explained that the publication might lead other women, if there are any, to contact the investigators. "We understand that there are victims who do not currently work in the municipality and are not in contact with municipal employees," said the police representative. "Therefore, the publication of the name is important for the continuation of the investigation."

During the hearing, the police representative updated that the suspect provided a version in his interrogation, but refused to provide the access code to his mobile phone, an iPhone 17 Pro Max. According to him, this is a significant investigative action that could help in verifying his version.

The suspect: "This is a revenge plot"

On the other hand, the suspect rejects all suspicions against him. In his interrogation, he claimed that it is a revenge plot by municipal employees. According to him, for about a year and a half, he acted against a phenomenon of employees who, he claimed, reported attendance even though they did not show up for work, and even led a move to switch to attendance signing via fingerprint. According to him, since then he began to suffer threats and harassment, and the complainant is the wife of one of the employees who were affected by the move.

As part of his version, he said that even before he was arrested, he turned to the police himself and filed a complaint about threats and harassment, after he claimed that defamatory messages were circulated against him in WhatsApp groups of the municipal environmental quality department employees. On the other hand, the police are checking whether some of the moves he made recently amount to an attempt to obstruct the investigation.

The suspect's defense attorneys, Adv. Jano and Adv. Klein, requested to release him to house arrest and opposed the publication of his name. "Publishing his name would be trampling his reputation and a severe blow to the presumption of innocence," argued Adv. Jano. Adv. Klein added that the police have ways to locate employees without publishing the suspect's name, and that this is a move that could "destroy a person from every direction."

The defense attorneys also claimed that the complainant had sent the suspect intimate photos in the past, and that the complaint was filed only after he himself filed a complaint with the police about the threats he received. According to them, "It's lucky he complained already in July, before the complaint was filed in August. A person who tries to enforce the rules in the municipality discovers that in the end, they take revenge on him."

According to the police, at this stage there is one complainant, but the investigation is in its infancy and the investigators continue to check if there are other victims. It was noted in the hearing that the complainant does not work in the suspect's department and is not subordinate to him.