I don't find Ramon attractive, complainant says

VIDEO - "I did not find Haim Ramon attractive. I can't even think of him in that way," said the former justice minister's accuser Wednesday just hours after the court convicted him of indecent conduct. In an interview with Channel 10, complainant A. said that despite the claims made by Ramon's lawyers, she "did not initiate the kiss and never flirted with Ramon." A. confirmed that at the beginning she did not want to file a complaint against him because at the time of the incident she was still in the army. However, when her coworkers realized that she had a hard time concentrating, they persuaded her to file a complaint. She said that the testimony in court was very distressing and she burst into tears every now and then. "I was sustained by the knowledge that I knew the truth," she said. A., who was working in the Prime Minister's Office during her millitary service when Ramon – then Justice Minister – kissed her, emphasized today that he did it against her will. "The age difference is very big (over 30 years) and it's not only that he is eight years older than my father," she explained, "There is no chance that I could look at him and think 'this is a guy I would go out with'." "Who even thought about it then? Who looked at it like that? It really wasn't like that. He can make statements and say whatever he wants and it could be true, but I couldn't think about it that way. I really don't find him attractive." 'No flirtatious conversation' A. described what happened in the Prime Minister's Office from the moment Ramon hugged her: "He grabbed my face and kissed me. I could feel his tongue, realized what was happening and stepped back. I think I might have looked at him, and then I walked out of the room. This isn't something you expect. If I would have thought that this man – after having two pictures taken with him – would grab my face and kiss me, I would never have asked to have the pictures taken with him. Ever." Throughout the trial Ramon and his lawyers Dan Sheinman and Navit Negev said that the complainant had flirted with him and she had described the kiss to many people in the wrong light, lessening her own part in it and exaggerating his. Sheinman said that her flirty behavior towards Ramon is typical of her behavior towards older, influential men, and that it suggests a behavioral pattern. Ramon had testified at the trial that she had been flirting with him and he played along with her. At the court ruling the judges supported A.'s story, saying that they fully believed her testimony and that Ramon had tried to besmirch her. The court also said that the kiss was not consensual, that it is an invasive and humiliating act and that Ramon had lied. "We found that the accused was not speaking only truth, he tried to divert the attention from him, tried to lessen his responsibility and on the other hand he exaggerated other things. Regarding the complainant, he shrewdly distorted the facts," the judges wrote. The judges refereed to Ramon's claims that the complainant had a flirtatious conversation with him and said: "The conversation was neither intimate nor flirty. It was idle chit-chat and the defendant was an equal partner in the conversation, its ambiance and content." By law, Ramon has 45 days to appeal the court's ruling to the district court, and he has already announced that he will. "We have quite a few questions only from our glimpsing at the ruling," said his lawyers.

I don't find Ramon attractive, complainant says

(VIDEO) Complainant A. says just hours after former justice minister convicted of indecent conduct, 'If I would have thought that this man would grab my face and kiss me, I would never have asked to have the pictures taken with him'