Police: Sexual harassment probe against Rosen was done professionally

Prosecutors overrule police investigators, say prominent television news personality won't be charged.

By BEN HARTMAN
Emanuel Rosen 370 (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Emanuel Rosen 370
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
The sexual harassment probe against television journalist and media personality Emmanuel Rosen was carried out professionally and with the goal of finding the truth, police said Monday.
Their claim came a day after it was revealed that the State Attorney’s Office had decided to close the case without an indictment despite police recommendations to the contrary.
“The investigation of Emmanuel Rosen was carried out professionally and appropriately, far away from the [media] spotlight while safeguarding the rights of the suspect the entire time,” police said.
“This was despite a series of publications, rumors and assessments by selfappointed experts. Police investigators focused on finding the truth and passed the evidence they found in the case to prosecutors.”
The police statement said that all its investigations are conducted “with the intention of finding the truth, not an indictment, and it is fitting that everybody in the legal system works independently and makes decisions based on their own professional assessments.”
Investigators had recommended indicting Rosen on two counts of sexual harassment several months after a number of women who had been his colleagues accused him of a series of sex crimes.
The investigation by the National Fraud Investigative unit of the police’s LAHAV 433 branch was completed last month, at which point the recommendation to indict was passed on to the State Attorney’s Office.
When the case broke, Israeli media outlets reported on testimony from the alleged victims, who accused Rosen of obsessive sexual harassment and sexual assault. Some were quoted as saying that he could potentially be charged with rape.
In July, Rosen’s media adviser, Ronen Moshe, said he and his client “welcome the opportunity” to present their side of the story as “determined by facts and not rumors and wild incitement.”
“We trust in the police and call for them to unearth the truth,” Moshe said.
In late October, police announced that they were dropping an investigation against another TV personality, Sharon Gal, who had also been accused of sexual harassment by former colleagues.