The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court on Monday remanded for an additional seven days the arrest of 30-year-old Rabbi Yosef Mordechai Pariser, who is suspected of rape and fraudulently convincing women to engage in sexual relations with him by using a false identity and making false promises through the Tinder dating app.
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So far, 18 women have filed complaints against Pariser with the police. Additional complaints are expected to arrive in the coming days, and several women are even expected to provide their testimonies.
A police official stated at the outset of the court hearing on Monday that "significant developments have occurred since the suspect’s first remand, and the reasonable suspicion against him has been significantly reinforced due to the increasing number of victims.”
“Since the case was made public, the investigating unit has received numerous complaints from across the country, indicating that the suspect had the same modus operandi. The suspect is still considered a danger to public safety due to the nature and frequency of these offenses,” the police official said.
Raanan Amosi, Pariser’s lawyer, argued that "the defendant cooperated with the police, gave his phone password, and explained that he lives in parallel worlds. He operated on dating apps where he displayed photos of himself wearing secular clothes and initiated contact with those women.”
“During the course of these interactions, he and some of the complainants began a certain relationship – getting intimate with some in the first meeting, and doing so later in the relationship with others. What we’re considering is more ethical than criminal. The defendant admitted his actions to his wife," he added.
Judge Mordechai Borstein, who oversaw the hearing, said that "since the previous hearing, reasonable suspicion against the defendant regarding his offenses has been reinforced. The investigation is progressing, and many complainants have provided their testimonies, and it is expected that additional complainants will do so as well.”
“However, there is a legal question concerning the nature of the fraud and the suspect’s purpose in his actions. Based on the evidence, for instance, at the very least, there is reasonable suspicion of fraudulently starting sexual relations, as according to the complainants, they wouldn’t have with the defendant if they’d known his true circumstance,” he added.
“Nevertheless, this question will be examined by the police’s investigating unit, but it shouldn’t have an effect on today’s decision. Given the nature of the offenses, concerns of obstruction of justice and the complexity of the investigation's actions, the defendant’s arrest will be remanded."
A., a woman from Jerusalem, who’d been in a relationship with Pariser for seven months, recounted: "He created a false image of a normative person. He said we’d get married and emphasized faithfulness was really important to him."
A.’s doubts arose after an argument the two had. "He’d view my Instagram profile but wouldn't follow me, only two other users. I asked who they were, and he sent me a screenshot showing that he was following two women, telling tall tales about how he knew them. I contacted them. One told me she broke up with him just four days ago, and the other said he was still her boyfriend," A. said.
E., 33, another complainant from Jerusalem, had been in a relationship with Pariser for five months, and heeven met her family. "The relationship advanced into a very serious place," she said. "We discovered we had a common background, and we always joked that we hadn't found anyone else we both knew.”
“After three months, my doubts began to rise. He never stayed over on Saturdays, and he always had an excuse. We arranged to meet his friends on a Friday evening, and two hours before the meeting he said he was sick. I talked to him and told him his actions didn’t meet his promises,” she added.
“In the end, I decided to break up with him. My sister demanded he explain himself, and he said he’d only do so if I never contacted him again. He told me his last name was fake and that he used to live with his girlfriend. I was shocked," E. said.
Pariser, married and father of two, presented himself under the online alias Jake Segal, a secular single man. He falsely claimed to women that he was employed as a trainer in an organization that trains guide dogs.
The case came to light, in part, because the victims decided to organize a confrontation. One of the women, who had been in contact with him, invited him to her home where several complainants were waiting. They then confronted him about his actions.