A former Kfar Saba city councilman was indicted on charges of sexual assault Wednesday morning, roughly two weeks after he was arrested following complaints by at least four individuals who claim he committed sexual acts on them in his car outside of the city of Elad in central Israel, Behadrei Haredim reported.
According to the indictment, Avinoam Granot, a former educator and one-time education department chief in Kfar Saba, sought out young victims to sexually assault, picking up hitchhikers before attacking them.
The attacks occurred over the past two years, and were carried out in rented cars. Granot apparently singled out boys and young men from the haredi sector, though he himself is not a member of the haredi community.
Granot often found victims in the predominantly haredi town of Elad, where he would offer hitchhikers a ride. Then, once his victims were in the car, Granot committed sexual acts on them, often while they attempted to resist. Afterwards, Granot offered some of his victims money in exchange for their silence.
The complaints of four victims, all from Elad, were included in Wednesday’s indictment, though three others from haredi neighborhoods across the country also filed complaints against Granot.