Israeli officers block investigation into minor sex crime

 The Defense For Children International (DCI) is accusing Israel of stonewalling investigations into a complaint filed by a Palestinian minor who was physically and sexually assaulted by an Israeli investigator.

The organization said the minor filed a complaint in August that he was beaten and forced to confess by Israeli soldiers who arrested him for allegedly throwing stones, and he was then physically and sexually assaulted while being questioned at the Etzion police station in southern West Bank.

He accused the investigator of placing an alligator clip from a jump cable on his genitals and another on his handcuffs and threatening to electrocute him.

After the complaint was filed on Aug. 15, an Israeli officer contacted the victim and ordered him to appear at the Etzion investigation center without a lawyer to discuss the complaint, and threatened to terminate investigations if he requested his lawyer’s presence, the DCI said.

The defense movement said the step was an effort to block the investigation, arguing that under Israeli law, any victim of a violent crime, which includes sex offenses, is entitled to a lawyer unless that would harm the investigation.