Muhammad Shelby Makhsal is accused of a series of assaults, including a 12-year-old in a tent on the Sea of Galilee • His lawyer: "He denies what is attributed to him, this is the low threshold for sexual offenses"
Muhammad Shelby. His lawyer: "We will address the charges in court"
Photo:
Israel Police
Seven cases of sexual assault on the Sea of Galilee: An indictment was filed today (Thursday) against Muhammad Shelby, a 28-year-old resident of Iksal, for a series of sexual offenses.
According to the indictment, which was filed by attorney Shani Egozi of the Northern District Attorney's Office, three of the offenses were committed on minors. In a minor under the age of 16, taking advantage of a situation that prevents her from giving free consent, and five offenses of attempted indecent act.The statutory penalty for these offenses is 10 and 7 years imprisonment, respectively.
Photo: Israel Police
The 12-year-old's assault occurred on July 11, when the minor, a resident of the south of the country, lived in a tent on the beach with her sister, near the tent where their parents slept. At around 4:00 a.m., the minor woke up screaming after feeling a stranger touch her. Her sister woke up from her screams and called her parents.
Following the incident, police investigators began tracking the defendant's movements by scanning hundreds of hours of footage from various security cameras and cell phone locations. The findings showed a pattern of action of the defendant, who used to come to the shores of the Sea of Galilee every Friday, between the hours of 23: 00-22: 00, so he looked for victims for the night in tents. Around 3:00 a.m. he would approach their tents and try to carry out his plot on the victims, mostly minors, while they slept.
As part of the investigation, police collected 60 pieces of evidence and collected forensic findings, including DNA samples of the defendant from the scene.
Shelby has previously been convicted of aggravated assault, and police say the DNA samples in their possession from his previous conviction enabled his speedy arrest - which was made three days after the 12-year-old's assault. Shelby was arrested in Ixal by large police forces while his acquaintances tried to thwart his arrest.
• "Suspicion that the 12-year-old girl's validity is linked to other incidents"
• Permitted for publication: This is the man who sexually assaulted a 12-year-old in the Sea of Galilee
Horror on the beach: A man sexually harassed a 12-year-old
In the documentation of the security cameras, the investigators identified that even before the attack on the 12-year-old, Shelby entered another tent. Even then, the suspicion arose that this was not the only case, and the police asked the court to reveal his identity in order to allow more women to complain about similar cases.
As a result, the number of attacks attributed to the stages, carried out during five nights on the beaches of Korsi, Zinbari and Gofra on the Sea of Galilee, rose to seven.
In addition to the indictment, the State Attorney's Office submitted a request for the detention of Shelby until the end of the proceedings to the District Court in Nazareth.
Attorney Said Haddad, representing Shelby on behalf of the Public Defender's Office, said: "Muhammad denies the charges. Despite the many statements and publications regarding the serious suspicions, finally the indictment contains offenses at the low threshold of sexual offenses. We need a period of time to study the material and formulate a line of defense, and then, within the limits of the law in light of the nature of the events, we will address the charges before the court. "
