Man detained for suspected kidnapping, sodomy of 8-year-old

‘Our children are scared to go out alone now,’ ex-policeman who lives in area tells ‘Post.’

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
A 37-year-old man from central Israel was arrested on Monday night on suspicion of kidnapping and attempting to sodomize an eight-year-old girl from a town in the Sharon district of central Israel.
The girl was playing with a friend when the suspect pulled up in a car and offered the girls a ride to their home.
He then allegedly abducted one of them, while her friend ran home and alerted her parents, who in turn alerted the girl’s parents.
Police believe the suspect, who was allegedly intoxicated and under the influence of drugs, drove a few kilometers to a local cemetery near Hadera, where he may have sodomized the girl in his vehicle.
The girl then managed to escape, and was spotted by a driver as she walked around the cemetery. The driver contacted police.
Officers found the girl hiding in a bush. Her small dress was found on the passenger’s seat of the suspect’s vehicle.
The suspect was later arrested.
A media gag order has been placed on details of the case.
The suspect’s custody was extended by seven days at the Hadera Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday morning.
The suspect, who is refusing to speak to police, is scheduled to undergo a psychiatric examination. He was previously suspected of carrying out an indecent act against a minor, but the case against him was closed.
An ex-police officer who lives in the same town in which the incident occurred told The Jerusalem Post, “My nine-year-old daughter is now petrified to go outside. We’re all taking about the fact that there will be a change here for a while. The kids won’t go out by themselves anymore.”
The ex-officer added that police maintained an inadequate police presence in the area.
“There are no patrols, and there is lots of crime here. Every few days there are break-ins and car thefts. On Sunday alone there were three break-ins,” he said.
Residents of the town said the man had acted suspiciously in the past. He had been placed in a psychiatric hospital in recent years.