Victim: Despite evidence of assault, police ignore complaint
Assault of girl in Jerusalem documented on security cameras, but even after father obtains video, brings to police, nothing done. Father says he was met with police indifference, suspect remains free. 'Case currently focused on gathering information,' police respond
A video of a man sexually assaulting a girl in Jerusalem was handed over to the local police, but they did not investigate and the case was closed without arresting the suspect, the girl's father said.
Police stressed that the case was not closed and that efforts are being made to locate the attacker, but the father insisted that he tried to call the police when he thought he spotted the man – without success. For now, the man remains free.
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About a year-and-a-half ago, a 13-year-old girl was attacked by a stranger near her home. In the video, a man is seen leading her to a stairwell and assaulting her while he periodically checks that no one is approaching. The girl told her parents about the incident, and they went to the Jerusalem District Police.
The father then filed a complaint for indecent action on a minor and the girl gave testimony, but the family said the case was closed.
“Along the entrance to our building, there is a passageway to a parallel street. It’s a neglected area and this is where he went with our daughter," the father told Ynet as he described the details of the attack.
"Probably because he was afraid of getting caught, he changed locations twice. He also asked our daughter if she could go with him to his home, but our oldest son had started looking for his sister and the man apparently panicked and left her alone," the father added.
According to the father, when he filed the complaint, he was asked by the police to check on his own whether the area has security cameras in place, and after much effort and persuasion, managed to get a video from a shop owner in the area. "At first he would not give me the video," the father said. "He wanted to transfer it directly to the police but they didn’t come to the location. It was only after persuasion and pleading that he gave me a copy. I went to the station and showed them the video. Officers were shocked and claimed they would take care of it."
According to the father, about a week after the incident, his son saw a man who looked similar to his daughter’s attacker, but the man noticed that the boy had a camera and left. The father turned directly to the police investigator, but was asked not to contact her directly, and to come to the station. The father said he asked that the police come as soon as he found his daughter’s attacker, but was scolded by the investigator.
A few weeks after the incident, the father was informed by police that "a decision was made to close the case and not pursue the investigation or the claims," but his children continued to see the attacker in the neighborhood. "My girl went through a very difficult time, every man she saw frightened her. She imagined her attacker on the street. The police acted incompetently, as if they did not care. They just fell asleep on duty."
Jerusalem Police countered the claims regarding the investigator and said, "The video was examined. An investigation was launched, but no suspects were found. Investigation of the case is currently focused on the intelligence level and the effort to locate the suspect."
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