More women come forward with claims of sexual assault by better doctor

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A new police complaint has reportedly been filed against Professor Arie Levine, the chief medical officer arrested Sunday on suspicion of multiple sexual offenses against patients he cares for, at least one of whom is a minor.

According to the Walla news site Wednesday, several other women have made allegations of sexual assault since Levine’s name was cleared for print in the press earlier this week.

At least one other woman has filed a complaint with the police, according to the report.

Levine, 64, is scheduled to appear in Tel Aviv Magistrates’ Court on Thursday for a pre-trial detention hearing after being ordered to remain in detention earlier this week.

He denied any wrongdoing.

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Levine is director of the pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition unit at Holon’s Wolfson Medical Center and practices in a private clinic.

Police said Monday that his alleged crimes, committed over several years, included the rape of a girl under 14.

Tel Aviv District Court (Nati Shohat / Flash90)

The doctor “took advantage of the plight of the patients, and in most cases the alleged sexual offenses were committed under the guise of treatment,” police said.

The arrest follows a secret investigation with Tel Aviv district prosecutors into the allegations against the doctor, who was not named in the initial police statement. During the arrest, police also seized documents and other evidence that may be relevant to the case.

Police said they were prepared for the possibility of more women coming forward following the release of details of the case.

Authorities first learned of the case when a woman lodged a complaint with the hospital’s sexual harassment manager two months ago, alleging the doctor had raped her nine years earlier then. that she was a minor, according to reports.

The woman who filed the complaint initially refused to surrender to the police, but was eventually persuaded to do so, according to reports. Another of the people allegedly assaulted by the doctor is the mother of a minor patient.

As the investigation progressed, police were in contact with women and girls across the country who were allegedly victims of the doctor, the statement said.

Reports have cited victims describing the doctor as “God” because of his ability to treat their difficult medical conditions and saying they felt “betrayed” by his assaults.

Hagit Pe’er, leader of the women’s rights group Na’amat, called the case “shocking” and called for moral support to be given to the women who came forward.

“It’s horrible to find that a person like this has done their thing in a place that was supposed to be the safest place there is for these women, like a hospital or a medical clinic,” he said. she declared.

Stuart Winer contributed to this report.

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