Indictment filed in suspected indecent assault at tent city

The accused allegedly assaulted three women as they slept in the Rothschild tent protest encampment.

By JOANNA PARASZCZUK
Tent City 311 (photo credit: Ben Hartman)
Tent City 311
(photo credit: Ben Hartman)
The Tel Aviv District Attorney’s office filed an indictment on Monday against a man suspected of indecently assaulting three women as they slept in the Rothschild tent protest encampment last week.
The suspect, Adal Bin Ahmed Abu Moh of Baka al-Gharbiya, was arrested immediately after the assaults on August 8. He has been remanded in custody.
The indictment, which lists three separate charges, was submitted to the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court by attorney Lilach Meir-Wolf of the District Attorney’s Office.
According to the indictment sheet, during the night of August 8, Abu Moh entered a tent in the Rothschild Boulevard encampment, in which several women were sleeping.
He then indecently assaulted the one of the women, who cannot be named and is referred to only as “Alef Samech,” and another woman whose identity is not known. He placed his hand on Alef Samech’s stomach and lay his head on her chest as she slept.
When Alef Samech awoke, she and others asked Abu Moh to leave the tent. However, he returned shortly afterward and indecently assaulted Alef Samech a second time, again as she lay sleeping.
Again, he was asked to leave.
Abu Moh did leave, but shortly afterwards he entered another tent and indecently assaulted a second woman, referred to as “Lamed Mem,” also as she was sleeping.
According to the indictment sheet, Abu Moh undid Lamed Mem’s brassiere and lifted up her undergarment.
Again, he was thrown out of the tent, but at around 8 a.m. he returned and indecently assaulted Lamed Mem again, this time by lying down next to her and pressing his body against hers as she slept. When she awoke, Lamed Mem insisted Abu Moh leave the tent.
All of these indecent assaults were carried out when the two women were asleep, and could not give their free consent, the indictment sheet notes.
Abu Moh is also suspected of assaulting a third woman, whose identity is not known to the State Attorney’s office, by touching her hand several times.
Alongside the indictment sheet, State Attorney Meir-Wolf also submitted a request to the court that the suspect remain in custody until the legal proceedings against him are concluded.
“The suspect committed several indecent assaults against women in the space of less than single day,” wrote Meir-Wolf.
“Two of these assaults were carried out when the women were asleep and could not express their objections.”
The state attorney also pointed out in her request that Abu Moh is currently homeless and has a criminal record for assaulting his partner, for which he had been sent to prison for 8 months.
Abu Moh’s attorney, public defender Galon Kaplinsky, has said that his client denies all the charges against him.