Chaim Rotter the Monster and Founder of Shoimrim in Bnei-Brak Arrested on Multiple Rape Charges at Ben Gurion Airport

The Petah Tikva Magistrate Court extended until next Thursday the detention of a man said to be a senior figure in the Shomrim organization in Bnei Brak by eight days, on suspicion of dozens of rapes of children and adults over serveral years. He was apprehended by Israel Police at Ben-Gurion Airport late Wednesday night. By press time, his name had not yet been cleared for publication. 

The man flew out of Israel about two weeks ago, and was arrested upon his return and taken in for questioning. He is considered to be a prominent figure in Bnei Brak, and in the ultra-Orthodox (haredi) community at large.

At the hearing on Wednesday, the suspect was silent when asked if he wished to respond to the allegations. One of his alleged victims, Meir, called out, “He raped me. You are evil, you are cursed. I am sick. He almost cut off my penis. He raped the mother of my child.” The judge tried to calm things down and directed the complainant to provide testimony to the investigative unit.

The court said that there is reasonable suspicion against the suspect, that he poses “a high level of risk” to society, and is suspected of obstructing the investigation. His lawyer said the reason he stayed out of the country was because of the war with Iran and flight cancellations, and that he returned to face the allegations against him. 

About three weeks ago, a police investigation was opened after a complaint was levied against the man, around a decade after the last complaint. More came in, and at present, there are about six open cases dating back about 15 years. Police also requested that the gag order placed on the case be lifted and that his name be publicized, so that more alleged victims would feel comfortable coming forward. 

Testimony from alleged survivor of abuse

A lawyer representing some of the victims said, “There are more who are afraid to speak up and file a complaint. The rumors about this man have circulated in Bnei Brak for a very long time.” 

Ynet noted that all the victims are aged 12 and up.

Meir, 39, from Tel Aviv, who called out during the hearing, told Walla, “There is no comfort for what he did… I am hopeful that justice will be carried out. In early 2013, he fell in love with my wife, now my ex-wife, and made my life hell. He desecrated her and did horrors to her in front of our eight-month-old daughter, stole my belongings, and barred me from entry.”

Shomrim operates as a local community police.

“It happened several times,” Meir said. “Once, he told me to come [over] to either pick up my tefillin or see my daughter. He said, 'Now we’re going to beat him up.' I told him I missed my daughter… I found myself on the floor, pinned to the stairs, as he hit me in the face.”

He said, “He told me, ‘I’ll tear off your [genitals], I’ll castrate you.’ They beat me until I was dehydrated and I faint, and no one helped me… They tortured me.”

Meir continued, “After 20 minutes of them beating me up, he and another 40 people, including a police officer, showed up. No matter how much I explained to him [the situation], he immediately cuffed me and took me away, as if I were the criminal.”

He described the helplessness of dealing with him and defined him as “the Chief of Police of the ultra-Orthodox sector in Israel… They took my dignity, my honor, my wife, my house.”

Meir described the mental damage left by the abuse: “The beatings and the sexual assault also cause flashbacks. Suddenly, I go into panic and anxiety... I didn’t do anything.” He called on law enforcement to see justice through.”

Meir described to Walla another instance, in 2017, where he was sitting outside, and was suddenly surrounded by the man and his cronies. 

“I told him, ‘Leave me alone.’ Within seconds, they took my phone, dragged me to the floor, and began to jump on me as though I were a trampoline, including on my genitals. 

“He told me I was a rapist and a terrorist. I experienced a clinical death there on the floor.”

He said that, like in 2013, police arrived and arrested him, and that when he arrived at the station, they said there was no relevance to opening a case. 

“He did it for money,” said Meir. “Shomrim is funded by the Bnei Brak municipality, so they have connections and can do whatever they want... There is no coming back from that.”

“There are police in Bnei Brak - there is no need for Shomrim,” he said.

The complaint from a decade ago was filed by Yossi, who is about 40 years old, grew up in Bnei Brak, and today lives in Tel Aviv, per Ynet. 

He told Ynet that he was sexually abused by the man, who also raped his wife and stole items from him. 

Also at the court hearing on Wednesday, Yossi said, “He murdered my soul, time after time after time. He took advantage of me and knew no one would do anything to him. Everyone is afraid of him. I am still not fully alive today because of him, and what happened to me happened decades ago.” 

"The man who destroyed my life was finally arrested. If the police had taken my case seriously in 2016, they could've saved so many other young boys who became victims." The case was closed, he said.

Magen, an organization that fights sexual assault in the haredi community, said, “Another wall of silence fell today and is crumbling before our eyes. We are witness to silencing attempts, including through threats. We will be with the victims every step of the way, until justice sees the light.”