Hotel manager arrested for disrupting rape investigation
11 arrested for involvement, security chief of hotel blames victim
By TAMAR URIEL-BEERIIsraelis demonstrate against sexual violence after the rape of a 16-year-old girl in Eilat last week, Jerusalem, August 23, 2020(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Police arrested the manager of the Red Sea Hotel in Eilat, where a 16-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by a large group of men, under suspicion of disrupting the investigation proceedings and failing to prevent the crime.One of the suspects told police that he believed he saw the manager standing aside as the girl was raped and did not do anything, according to N12."I saw an open door and a lot of men lying with a woman," he said, according to the Israeli news channel. "I saw someone who looks like the security officer of the hotel next to the manager of the hotel... we did not understand why they did not do anything."On Thursday, the manager of the hotel told N12 that there is no evidence that the incident occurred there, and that if it had, the management on location “would have noticed.”The hotel did not respond to the police claim that the footage from the security cameras proves without a doubt that the incident did occur in the hotel.The hotel security chief said that “the girl and her friend had a hand in the affair,” according to N12.The Red Sea Hotel did not respond to The Jerusalem Post’s request for comment.Meanwhile, police confirmed to the Post on Sunday evening that more evidence has surfaced that further strengthens the claim of the victim, suggesting that the rape lasted for an exceedingly long amount of time.In addition, police arrested an additional seven suspects who were allegedly involved in the gang-rape, bringing the number of those who have been detained to 11.Among those who were involved, police believe that some took part in the brutal act while others filmed it.
The victim was vacationing with a friend in Eilat and had become inebriated when she was allegedly gang-raped by a group of men. Although the original suspected number of men stood at 30, that number has slowly decreased.The victim is in a serious mental state following the traumatic incident, and she, along with the friend who had been with her, is being escorted by a police youth investigator.Police will ask the court to extend the arrest of eight of the suspects on Monday. The arrest of one of the 17-year-olds was extended to Tuesday, while the other one was released by the court. Police requested to delay his release, which the court approved until Monday.Additional arrests are expected in the coming days, according to the police.The two first suspects arrested for their alleged involvement in the case were in their 20s, while the following two – both arrested on Saturday – were 17 years of age. The next seven suspects were arrested on Sunday.The “main” suspect has had his arrest extended by five days, according to police. One of the two 17-year-olds told police on Sunday morning that he had not been present during the rape, but rather had been sleeping one room over because he had felt sick after drinking too much.Protesters intend to continue demonstrating throughout the country out of fury toward the alleged crime in Eilat. Protesters on Sunday afternoon by the Chords Bridge in Jerusalem wore red and held signs saying: “stop victim blaming” and “even one is too much,” referring to the multiplicity of suspects who allegedly committed or participated in the crime.
