The suspected imam
Photo: Dudi Vaaknin
Imam suspected of sexually harassing 3 students
Fifty-seven year-old Muslim cleric from Jerusalem accused of indecent assault, attempted rape of students inside mosque. Cleric's arrest extended by 4 days
A 57-year-old imam (Muslim cleric) who is a resident of a village in northern Jerusalem was arrested on Monday under suspicion of performing indecent assault and attempted rape of three 15-year-old boys who are residents of east Jerusalem.
The complaint leading to the arrest of the imam was filed on Saturday by one of the boys.
Following the filing of the complaint an investigation was opened against the imam and on Sunday the cleric was apprehended by Jerusalem police detectives who had his arrest extended on Monday, for four days in the Jerusalem magistrate court.
The cleric is suspected of committing indecent assault on the boys for the past few months.
He supposedly committed the assault on two of the boys in his car while he was giving them a lift. The third boy was allegedly harassed inside a mosque.
The suspect has denied the allegations and claimed that the three boys had come to him asking to study the Quran.
On Monday, the imam's arrest was extended by four days.
During his hearing it was revealed that during his last assault, the subject was attacked by a number of residents from the village who saw him committing the indecent deeds on a boy and beat him.
The police investigation will continue in order to determine if indecent assault was forced on any other boys.
