Kiryat Malachi Mayor Moti Malka denied repeatedly raping and sexually abusing a
female employee of his municipality, saying Thursday that their relationship was
consensual.
Speaking to reporters at the Central District Court in Petah
Tikva, where he arrived to appeal his eight-day remand, the embattled mayor said
he was unaware of who was behind the complaint against him, but expressed
confidence that “the truth will come to light” and his innocence will be
established.
Malka, his son, and five municipality officials were
arrested by police on Wednesday following a lengthy undercover investigation
into rape and widespread bribery.
Speaking at the court hearing, Malka’s
attorney, Avi Himi, protested what he described as the demonization of his
client, saying the media had turned him into a dangerous man whose fate had been
sealed without trial.
The court rejected Malka’s appeal, sending him back
to custody for a further week to allow police to continue their
investigation.
Malka is suspected of repeatedly raping, sodomizing and
sexually abusing the employee and allegedly carrying out the acts in an
apartment made available to him by a contractor as a bribe.
Police
suspect that Malka’s deputy, Yossi Sulimani, was also involved in an incident of
rape.
Police suspect that on one occasion, Malka called his deputy to the
scene, and the two raped the woman one after the other.
According to
police suspicions, Malka also took a “sexual bribe” from a single mother in
exchange for lowering her municipal land tax (arnona), which took place in the
apartment.
Malka has denied the suspicions, saying sexual relations took
place with consent, and that he ended the relationship.
Police would not
officially comment on reports that Malka would soon be confronted with the
female employee in the questioning room.