אילוס אזיקים אזיקים/תקיפה/אישום
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Police announce further investigation into rape of young girl
Statement says new information, more potential suspects call for further investigation; stability of case in question due to lack of evidence, sole testimony by 7-year-old implicating Palestinian indicted for attack
Two days after the IDF's Military Prosecution filed an indictment against Mohamed Katusa for the rape of a seven-year-old girl from in a settlement in the West Bank, it has been decided to conduct further investigation into the matter.
A joint announcement by the Israel Police and the IDF spokesperson on Tuesday said that "in order to investigate the involvement of other possible suspects, and in light of new information that was received after the case was made public, further investigation was decided upon."
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Earlier Tuesday, it was announced that Chief police investigator Major General Gadi Siso has decided to handle the alleged rape case personally, due to the sensitivity of the issue and the question marks raised in the case.
The indictment left several questions unanswered, regarding the location and date of the attack, after it was revealed that the suspect presented an alibi for the date that was initially stated in the girl's testimony.
According to unnamed sources who know the case, the indictment didn't state a concrete date in light of the alibi.
Another issue hampering the stability of the case is the young age of the girl, whose testimony is the only thing pointing to Katusa due to lack of other evidence.
According to the police, the suspect, from the town of Deir Qaddis near Ramallah, worked as a janitor at a school which the young victim was attending and had groomed her for a long time before committing the attack.
The suspect allegedly established a relationship with the girl by bringing her gifts and sweets. According to the indictment, one day the suspect forcefully led the 7-year-old into one of the houses in the area and sexually assaulted her before letting the victim go.
The man was charged with rape under aggravated circumstances, assault and kidnapping.
The indictment was filed after a months-long investigation, conducted by Shai District Police.
