Two men suspected of attempted rape released after complainants recant

The Haifa District Court released two men, aged 17 and 20, on Monday who were recently arrested on suspicion they had tried to rape three young girls from Carmiel. The two were released after the complainants arrived at the courthouse Friday seeking to drop the charges.

The detainees' attorney, Wisam Araf, appealed The Acre Magistrates Court decision to extend his clients remand by two days. Araf said the court accepted his appeal and released the two men with no restrictive conditions. Araf went on to say that the attempted rape charge was a fabrication invented by the three complainants.

Earlier Friday, the three girls came to the courthouse and said that the rape allegations were untrue and asked to drop the complaint.

The commander of the Carmiel police station told Haaretz that the girls' announcement was surprising, and that their original story was being re-investigated. He said that he believed that the girls knew the two men prior to the incident, or alternately they had received threats.

The two suspects were arrested after the three girls came to the police station in Misgav Thursday night and reported an attempted rape. According to their complaint, they were hitchhiking at the entrance of Carmiel and a car occupied by the two suspects stopped to give them a ride. They agreed to take the girls to Acre, but according to the complaint, drove south instead of west and took them to an olive grove. At this point, a struggle broke out and the girls managed to escape, they said. They then hitchhiked back to Misgav and reported the incident to the police. They also gave the police the license plate number of the car that picked them up in Carmiel.

The owner of the vehicle was taken in for questioning and said that he had not been driving the car, and gave the police the names of the two suspects. The two denied the allegations.