An East Jerusalem man suspected of keeping a young Haifa woman in an apartment in that city for a month, during which time he is alleged to have raped her repeatedly, was arrested Monday, shortly after the woman, 20, was rescued by police. The suspect, 26, acknowledged during questioning that he had hit the woman on several occasions but denied that he had kidnapped, imprisoned or raped her. Police say that he has been living in Haifa, while he worked doing apartment renovations, for the past nine months.

Intelligence received by detectives led police to the apartment at 34 Herzl St. where the woman was allegedly held. "The detectives verified that she was indeed imprisoned and broke into the apartment," Haifa Police Superintendent Gadi Hatab said. "They found a girl with bruises and evidence of physical assault. A later examination revealed evidence of sexual assault as well." Hatab said police suspect that the woman was beaten, raped dozens of times and prevented from leaving the apartment.

Hatab said the two met through the woman's boyfriend, who was recently sent to prison. Police think the suspect sought her out on the pretext of offering her support her, after which he abducted her. "Later he forced her to call her family several times during the ordeal and say she was fine, which was why they weren't searching for her," Hatab said.