Ex-gov't man sentenced for sex crimes

Nissim Aharon abused women, would tell them his sperm were "holy.”

By BEN HARTMAN
prison jail good 224 88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
prison jail good 224 88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
The Petah Tikva Regional Court on Monday announced its decision, made earlier this month, to sentence a former Defense Ministry employee to 10 years in prison for crimes including rape, sexual molestation, sodomy, aggravated fraud, making terrorist threats, attempted obstruction of justice and falsification of documents.
The sentence, which includes NIS 100,000 in fines to be paid to the five complainants, came after Petah Tikva resident Nissim Aharon, 59, agreed to a plea bargain.
In a statement during the sentencing, the judges said of Aharon: “His behavior is corrupt, and it can only be called monstrous. There aren’t enough words to describe the atrocity of his actions.”
To pull off his sexual assaults, Aharon impersonated a rabbi, a Mossad agent and a Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) employee. Up until a year-and-a-half ago, he was employed by the Defense Ministry. Aharon’s arrest was originally reported in August.
According to announcements made by police at the time of his arrest, over a 15-year period Aharon contacted distraught women and recommended they speak to an esteemed rabbi he knew personally in Jerusalem. Aharon would then contact the women a few days later pretending to be “Rabbi Nissim Aharon.”
After many calls back and forth between the “rabbi” and the women, he would tell the women that his helper, Aharon, had special healing powers, including “magical sperm,” and that if they had sexual relations with him, their problems would be solved.
In one case, according to police, a female soldier called up the “rabbi” to ask for help in acquiring a certain position in the army. “Rabbi” Aharon referred her to an “officer in that office,” whom he impersonated when she proceeded to call the number.
Over the years, Aharon attracted a substantial following of believers. These followers would approach him for advice and direction, and paid the suspect large sums of money, possibly totalling hundreds of thousands of shekels.