Modi'in Illit Resident Charged With Indecent Act Against a Minor

A girl of about 12 years old, who only wanted to get there on time for a class, got into the car of a stranger who offered to drive her. However, according to the indictment filed by the Central District Prosecution, the ride took a disturbing turn when the driver, Meir Shimon Hammi from Modi'in Illit, swerved from the road and drove the girl to a forest near Hafzivah. There, it is alleged, he exposed his genital organ to her and tried to persuade her to perform sexual acts with it. An indictment was filed against Hammi in the District Court in Lod, attributing to him an offense of an indecent act against a minor.

According to the indictment, there was no prior acquaintance between Hammi and the girl. About two weeks earlier, in the afternoon, the girl was on a bus on her way home. She got off at the entrance to Modi'in Illit in order to go to the bathroom, and then asked to cross the road and get on another bus to continue her journey.

At that time, Hammi arrived in the area while driving a Toyota vehicle. According to the charge, he noticed the girl while she was crossing at a crosswalk, slowed his drive, told her she could cross, and stopped near her. After she finished crossing the road, he turned to her and asked whether she wanted to get into his car. The girl, it is alleged, accepted the offer because she was pressed for time and feared she would be late for the class. Hammi opened the door for her from the car, she sat next to him, and he asked her where she needed to go. He then began driving.

During the trip, according to the indictment, Hammi asked the girl various questions, including what her name was and what her last name was, and he even told her that he might know her family. At this stage, it is alleged, he swerved from the road and drove to a forest near Hafzivah. During the drive, he asked her whether she had been in the forest before, whether she knew where there is a stream, and “whether she has pee.” After she did not respond to his words, he asked her: “What? Yes, you have?”

According to the indictment, inside the forest Hammi stopped the car. The girl told him that she was late for the class and needed to already arrive in order to get ready. Hammi got out of the car to urinate, but after he returned, it is alleged, he lifted himself for a moment, removed his pants and underwear, and exposed his genital organ to her.

The indictment alleges that Hammi told the girl that something had pricked him in his genital organ and asked her to place her hand on it, claiming that the thing would calm him. The girl burst into tears. However, according to the indictment, Hammi continued and told her that she needed to hold his genital organ and “eat that thing like a candy.” The girl replied that she “doesn’t dare,” but according to the indictment Hammi urged her and told her, “it’s worth trying.” The girl continued to cry. When he asked her why she was crying, she told him she was late for the class. In the end, Hammi drove her to her home.

In the Central District Prosecution, they claim that in his actions Hammi committed an indecent act against a minor who was not yet 16 years old, and he is charged with an offense of an indecent act against a minor. Alongside the indictment, the prosecution submitted a request to order Hammi’s detention until the end of the legal proceedings against him. The request stated that the girl gave testimony to a child investigator and described the incident in detail. The child investigator determined that her statements were credible. It was also noted that the girl’s mother stated that her daughter told her about the incident immediately when she returned home, and that after the incident she “cried a lot and was upset.”

According to the detention request, during his interrogation Hammi associated himself with part of the events. He admitted that he drove in a car, that he offered the girl a ride to her home, and that he took her to the place described, but denied committing the sexual offense attributed to him. The prosecution also noted documentation from security cameras in which the vehicle is seen slowing down when the girl crosses at the crosswalk and then the girl is seen getting into the car. It was further alleged that as part of a lead-and-pointing exercise, Hammi led the officers to the place where, according to the state, the offense was carried out.

In the prosecution, they claim that a danger is posed by Hammi, inter alia in light of the circumstances of the alleged incident, which occurred in daylight and after a chance meeting with the girl, without any prior acquaintance between them. It was also alleged in the detention request that the officers tried to summon him for interrogation, but he did not respond to them, and he presented himself for interrogation only about a week later after his brother and mother were interrogated by the police.