3 troops suspected of rape at IDF base
Suspicion of rape at IDF southern base. Plaintiff says soldiers took advantage of her drunkenness – one raping her, other touching her in intimate places; says her friend witnessed incident, failed to help her
A female soldier at one of the IDF's bases in southern Israel approached the army's Criminal Investigation Division (CID) and claimed that she was raped over the weekend in her room at the base, Ynet has learned.
The soldier said that one soldier raped her, while another soldier tried to touch her in intimate places. She also claimed that her friend, who witnessed the incident, did not rush to her aid.
"I got drunk in the night, I fell asleep in the room, and when I woke up I saw him. He raped me… I shouted 'enough, stop," she told the investigators.
The affair, which is defined by IDF sources as an affair "that may develop to extremely serious directions," began on Friday. The soldier, her friend and two other soldiers entered the base's kitchen and drank alcohol from a number of bottles.
It is still unclear how the bottles were smuggled into the base, as Chief of Staff Dan Halutz recently issued strict orders prohibiting alcohol at IDF bases.
Only some of the details regarding what happened that night are known at this stage, since the CID investigation has not ended. What is known is that the soldier woke up the next morning and approached the CID. She claimed that the two male soldiers entered her room at the girls' dormitories. At a certain stage she fell asleep as a result of intoxication.
"I have flashes from that night," she told the investigators in tears. "He rode on me, raped me. I screamed at him to stop, I shouted enough."
Suspects deny involvement
The two soldiers, arrested Sunday by the military police, denied involvement in the rape. The prosecution demanded their remand be extended by 10 days as new evidence was presented to military judge Lieutenant-Colonel Orli Markman.
The court agreed to extend the remand of the suspected perpetrator by 10 days and of the suspected accomplice by 7 days. The court ordered the prosecution present evidence about the nature of the involvement of the suspected accomplice in the rape.
The female accomplice will appear before a military court on Thursday. The prosecution intends on pressing charges against her for failing to prevent or report the attack on her intoxicated friend.
“It is inappropriate at this time to elaborate on the case. It is a serious complaint related to alcohol consumption at a military base. Investigators will be given enough time to do their job and collect more evidence. The plaintiff solider will be given all assistance she asks for,” a military source told Ynet.
The soldiers’ attorneys argued that what happened in the plaintiff’s room was done with her full consent. “The soldiers were apparently drunk. One male soldier had sex with one of the females and his friend had sex with the other female. There was no rape. It is early to judge the soldiers,” they said.
