A Palestinian man from the West Bank is accused of raping a 7-year-old Jewish girl from one of the Israeli settlements in the area, according to the charges filed against him at the Ofer military court on Sunday.
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The police said the suspect, from the town of Deir Qaddis near Ramallah, worked as a janitor at a school which the young victim was attending and had groomed her for a long time before committing the attack.
The suspect allegedly established a relationship with the girl by bringing her gifts and sweets. According to the indictment, one day the suspect forcefully led the 7 year old into one of the houses in the area and sexually assaulted her before letting the victim go.
The man was charged with rape under aggravated circumstances, assault and kidnapping.
The indictment was filed after a months-long investigation, conducted by Shai District Police.
Attorney Haim Bleicher of the right-wing activist group Honenu, who accompanies the family of the victim, called the attack “shocking and cruel,” and claimed the rape was nationalistically motivated.