The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI) submitted on Monday to State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman a list of police actions in the investigation of singer Eyal Golan that it said could amount to obstruction of justice.
The points included in the list raise suspicions regarding the handling of the investigation of the case of organized sexual exploitation of minors carried out by Golan’s father and other associates.
Police actions harmed the victims and the possibility of investigating and bringing those involved to justice, the ARCCI said.
Golan was given preferential treatment at the police station, including from police investigators, the ARCCI added.I said that the Golan’s investigators helped him locate the camera recording the investigation and blocked it with their bodies.
Investigators also hinted to Golan to use the bathroom at a certain time, the ARCCI said, adding that it believed that this was in order to give Golan a chance to give them information off the record while in the bathroom.
The ARCCI also said that there is documentation of a conversation Golan had with his lawyer on speakerphone in which she reassured him that the head of the investigation team would “take care” of him.
Golan was given favorable treatment during the investigation, including sandwiches and popcorn, the association said.Explaining that they have accompanied Taisia Zamolowski, the primary plaintiff in the case, for years, the ARCCI included a statement by her: “They committed a crime. In the interrogations, even in Eyal’s interrogations, in the disk,” there were crimes involved.
If the people of Israel were to see this – it would truly be an earthquake,” Zamolowski’s statement read.
“You can see the head of the investigation team hiding the camera and that they’re hiding the camera together, and then Eyal found it. At a certain point, Eyal asked, ‘Should I go out to pee now?’ which means the entire interrogation took place in the bathroom.”
Girls treated as criminals rather than victims, ARCCI says
The ARCCI also highlighted in its complaint to the comptroller the treatment of the victims by the police – saying that the girls were investigated as if they were criminals instead of victims of offenses.
They were investigated in handcuffs and threatened with legal action in order to prevent them from revealing the whole truth, the ARCCI said.
The submission of the information to the comptroller follows a first public interview by Zamolowski.
Now 29, Zamolowski revealed her identity for the first time in an interview she had with investigative journalists Omri Assenheim and Roni Kuban on KAN 11, shedding light on her interactions with Golan and his father, Daniel Biton.
She accused Golan, his father, and their associates of acts of sexual assault committed against underage girls as part of a scheme to force minors into sexual acts through their connection to the famous singer.
Biton was convicted as part of a plea bargain in the case, dubbed the Social Game, and was sentenced to two years in prison.
He was also found guilty of paying the underage girls, giving them presents in exchange for sex, and obstruction of justice. In 2021, he died of COVID-19. The case against Golan was closed in May 2023 due to lack of evidence.
The Israel Police responded, saying that “this was a professional and thorough investigation conducted covertly in 2013, during which the police carried out a wide range of investigative actions, including arrests, collecting testimonies, and confrontations between the complainants and the suspects.”
“Contrary to the claims made, we emphasize that the investigation was conducted with sensitivity, and all the rights of those who made the complaints were preserved.
“After the investigation, which was accompanied by a supervising prosecutor, the case was transferred for review and a decision by the prosecution, which filed a serious indictment against one of the individuals involved,” they added.
Tal Spungin contributed to this report.