Jewish Police officer convicted of rape

Ofer Koren, former police officer, raped two female officers who served under his command; Judge asserts case bears similarities to 'hormone-filled movie rather than a police patrol unit'

The Tel Aviv District Court convicted a former police officer Tuesday of two rape charges and additional sex offenses. The ex-officer, Ofer Koren, who was deputy to patrol unit chief at the Ayalon Sub-District Police, is accused of sexually assaulting his subordinates while on duty.

Judge Sarah Dotan leveled harsh criticism at the former officer's unit, determining the unit exhibited "problematic norms, a grim and improper state of affairs which groomed inappropriate sexual workplace surroundings."

The indictment filed against Koren included nine clauses of sexual offenses perpetrated during 2007-2009. Judge Dotan convicted the former officer on two counts of rape, indecent assault, sexual harassment and more.

The conviction stated that "the complainants' version is reliable and additional evidence supports those versions, basing the sequence of events in the indictment and presenting a convicting display against the defendant.

"There exist similarities between the descriptions of the witnesses that help to identify a consistent course of action exercised by the defendant while they (the complainants) were working under his command."

The case was uncovered in July 2009 when one of the complainants reported Koren to the unit chief and the report led to the launching of an investigation by the Justice Ministry's division of police internal affairs.

The judge spared no criticism from the unit as well, saying "The various testimonies regarding this case paint a grim picture to the court – one of conduct that does not befit a workplace environment, not to mention a workplace of people who are entrusted with enforcing the law.

"It often seems that the conduct of the people in question is part of a script taken from a hormone-filled movie rather than a police patrol unit."

Koren arrived at the court supported by family members and close friends, one of whom said "Justice was not served and the truth did not come to light. It's a shame that an innocent man has to go to jail. Many people know the truth and keep silent, including the complainants."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4391184,00.html