An indictment against the accused sex offender and former CEO of the Shomrim neighborhood patrol group Chaim Rotter, 38, is expected to be issued on Sunday, Israel Police announced on Wednesday. A police prosecutor declaration was issued to the Tel Aviv District Court on Wednesday, in the preparatory step before an indictment.
In a case that has shocked the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community and the country at large, Rotter was arrested on July 2, and his name was later cleared for publication.
Police received a complaint accusing him of sexual assault, on June 12, but Rotter had flown out of Israel one day earlier. He was arrested at Ben-Gurion Airport upon his return.
Per his victims’ testimonies, provided by social media and the press, Rotter allegedly attacked, in a consistent manner, men, women, and children over the years in the city of Bnei Brak, using his position of communal power as the head of a patrol organization to scare whistleblowers and victims from coming forward. One victim stated that he issued a complaint against Rotter about a decade ago, but that it had been closed.
The case against Rotter consists of 15 different accusations. Soon after his arrest, a special task force was created to manage the case, and his arrest was periodically extended to keep him in detention.
Consistent pattern of sexual abuse
“The investigation has found so far that the suspect [Rotter] manipulated his position of power in Bnei Brak to win the trust of his victims, and then sexually attacked them. This pattern was consistent throughout the years, sometimes bolstered by physical and verbal threats against the victims,” said police.