Three men subjected a teenage girl to a terrifying sexual assault on the eve of
Independence Day, two of them repeatedly attempting to rape her in a parking lot
near Tel Aviv’s central bus station while the third held the girl’s boyfriend
down, according to an indictment filed in the district court on
Friday.
The indictment alleges that Aviel Hokovai, 24, Bana Tesper Gavar,
18, both of no certain address, and 19-year-old Mungus Goitom of Ramat Gan,
launched a violent and protracted sexual assault on the girl after mugging her
and her friend.
The three, all African migrants, are charged with
conspiracy to commit a felony, aggravated robbery, aggravated attempted rape and
indecent assault.
According to the indictment, the complainant and her
male friend, both 15, had celebrated Independence Day together at The Gate
nightclub near the central bus station in south Tel Aviv, and at around 3 a.m.
on April 26 left the club and sat in a parking lot on Shivat Zion
Street.
Shortly afterward, Hokovai, Gavar and Goitom came to the parking
lot and asked the complainant’s friend whether he had a light for a cigarette,
and at that point the three decided to mug the two teens, the indictment
alleges.
The defendants robbed the complainant and her friend of cash and
two cellphones, the indictment charges.
The three defendants then decided
to rape the complainant, the indictment said.
Allegedly, so that Gavar
and Hokovai could rape the girl, Goitom knocked her friend to the
ground.
Gavar and Hokovai then indecently assaulted the girl, the
indictment charges.
Hokovai allegedly grabbed the complainant, pushed her
back against the wall and forcibly inserted his tongue into her mouth, “for
arousal, gratification or sexual humiliation,” the indictment
said.
Immediately afterward, Gavar grabbed the complainant and allegedly
carried out the same act.
Gavar and Hokovai then grabbed the 15-year-old,
tore off her underclothes, and forcibly restrained her arms, the indictment
said.
Hokovai then tried to rape the teenager as she pleaded with him to
stop, telling her attacker she was a virgin. Hokovai told the girl to “keep
quiet,” the indictment said.
Allegedly, after Hokovai had tried to rape
the teenager, Gavar grabbed the girl and also attempted to rape her, as she
resisted and told him to stop.
After Gavar’s attempt to have sexual
intercourse with the girl against her will failed, Hokovai tried again to rape
her, the indictment said.
Gavar and Hokovai only stopped trying to rape
the complainant when a car drove into the car park, the indictment alleges, at
which point the three defendants fled.
The defendants took a sweatshirt
belonging to the complainant’s friend and a gold chain that Gavar allegedly
ripped from the complainant’s neck during the assault, the indictment
said.
Alongside the indictment, the district attorney filed a request for
the court to order the three defendants to be remanded in custody throughout the
criminal trial.
Police arrested Gavar and Hokovai on May 5, and Goitom on
May 14, following an extensive investigation.
The remand request alleges
that among the prima facie evidence against Gavar and Hokovai is DNA from both
men discovered inside the complainant’s body after the attack, and testimony
from the complainant’s male friend about the complainant's mental state after
the assault.
The maximum penalty for raping a minor under 16 is 20 years
imprisonment. Judges may hand down the same sentence for attempted rape.