Niso Shaham
Photo: Motti Kimchi
Former Jerusalem police chief convicted of indecent act
Niso Shaham, who was fired from the Israel Police in 2013 after being accused of sexually harassing policewomen under his command, cleared of sexual harassment and breach of trust charges, but convicted of indecent act; Shaham intends to seek non-conviction amid court criticism of prosecution.
Former Jerusalem District Police chief Niso Shaham, who was charged with sexual harassment,
was convicted Tuesday morning of committing an indecent act by kissing a policewoman under his command, but acquitted of all other charges against him.
"A six year journey and much ado about nothing," Shaham said after the ruling. "This isn't the end, and we will continue to fight. In the end, justice will prevail. I've gone through six years of delusional accusations."
The Police Investigation Unit launched a probe against Shaham in 2012 amid allegations he abused his power as a senior commander to have forbidden sexual relations with several female police officers under his command.
Niso Shaham (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
He was fired from the Israel Police in October 2013 after an indictment was filed against him, charging him with sexual harassment, two counts of indecent acts, and five counts of breach of trust.
He later said he asked to retire from the police "in order to focus on defending my good name and proving my innocence."
Shaham refused to take a plea, which would've seen him admit only to breach of trust.
He said Tuesday that he did not regret that decision. "Even if I was convicted of all charges, it would've made me very sad, but I wouldn't have regretted my decision," he insisted.
The Tel Aviv District Court criticized the prosecution's conduct, saying "Its thesis is not in line with the word of the law and the circumstances."
Shaham's laywer, Boaz Ben-Zur, said his client intends to seek a non-conviction. "The court criticized the fact the investigation crossed the line. We cannot allow an investigation to be carried out as a witch hunt. Policewomen who said they had no complaints were interrogated in a brutal, humiliating manner and under considerable threats. Lessons were learned on how to investigate, but it's too late," he said.
Amid criticism of the investigation and the prosecution, attorney Ronen Yitzhak from the Police Investigation Unit stressed that "the court convicted Shaham of committing an incident act against a junior policewoman, while emphasizing the gap in roles and ranks and the severity of the actions of a senior and admired commander who chooses to kiss a young policewoman in need of his help."
Yitzhak further argued there is no dispute over the facts. "During his service as a senior officer in the Israel Police, (Shaham) had intimate relations, sexual in nature, with young policewomen, mostly in low ranks, junior roles and significantly younger than him, who were under his command. Despite these relationships, Shaham did not recuse himself of making decisions about them."
