Chauffeur convicted of raping 3-yr old

67-year-old man raped toddler at least five times; 25-year-old man charged with assaulting teenager.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
A Herzliya chauffeur was sentenced on Thursday to 15 years in jail and ordered to pay NIS 100,000 in compensation, after being convicted of raping a three-year-old girl on at least five separate occasions. Israel Malachi, 67, who admitted to all the charges, was employed to drive the girl from nursery school every day between November 2006 and January 2007. According to the verdict, Malachi would put the child in the front passenger's seat so that he could abuse her while driving. The parents' suspicions were aroused when the girl's behavior changed rapidly. She stopped eating and began suffering from recurring nightmares. "This is among the worst cases ever to be brought before this court," the judges wrote. Doctors predicted that the girl would need many years of treatment to recover her speech, learning and social interaction abilities. Also on Thursday, the Tel Aviv District Court sentenced a former male nurse to seven years in prison plus a two year suspended sentence, for raping a Filipino migrant worker. Reading the sentence, the judges noted that Mordechai Zohar, 48, "deliberately chose a weak victim, far from home," and ordered him to pay NIS 35,000 in compensation. Earlier Thursday, a 25-year-old man from Lod was charged in a Tel Aviv court with the indecent assault and attempted rape of a 17-year-old girl in Bat Yam. Police said that about three months ago, the man came across his victim near a kiosk in the city. He is alleged to have grabbed the girl, trying to undress and rape her. She fought him and managed to chase him off. Meanwhile, in Rosh Ha'ayin, a 22-year-old was arrested on suspicion of molesting his four-year-old nephew.