A young man who has been remanded into custody until Friday of this week for the rape of an 11-year-old in Arad may have sexually molested other girls in the area, say police. A gag order prohibits publishing information about the suspect.

Police say the suspect confessed last Tuesday to the rape of the 11-year-old last Monday and reconstructed the incident for detectives. He allegedly met the girl outside, engaged her in conversation, dragged her into the nearby bushes, raped her and stole her cell phone. The victim ran home and told her mother, who called the police.

Police officials say the quick response of the girl and her mother helped greatly in apprehending the suspect.

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Officers from Arad and nearby communities were aided by the fact that the suspect made calls from his victim's cell phone.

On Monday night the Arad police arrested the suspect and six other people, including two women, who were in contact with him after the rape. On Tuesday morning five of the detainees were brought before a judge. The suspect's father was released immediately, while all of the others with the exception of the suspect himself were released in the days that followed.

According to the Arad police, the suspect confessed, reenacted and even apologized for the rape. The suspect's lawyers, Esther Bar-Zion and Victor Uzan, refute these claims. "To the best of my knowledge," Bar-Zion said yesterday, "the suspect did not admit to the rape, only to committing obscene acts. In addition, we will examine the admissibility of his confession."