Suspect in Rape at Tel Aviv Club 'Just Wanted to Talk' to Complainant

Patrons told police they saw the suspect, a man in his 20s, follow the 18-year-old alleged victim into the bathroom.

Aug 17, 2016

The suspect in the rape at Tel Aviv's Allenby 40 club at a detention hearing, August 17, 2016.Credit: Moti Milrod

Aug 17, 2016

A man who was arrested on suspicion of raping a woman in a Tel Aviv club over the weekend admitted that the two had been in the club’s bathroom together but denied any sexual contact between them. The man, an Or Yehuda resident in his 20s, told the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court at his detention hearing on Wednesday that he went into the bathroom with the 18-year-old woman, who later told police he had raped her there, because the club was noisy and he wanted to talk to her. The suspect was ordered to remain in custody for five days. This week the club, Allenby 40, was shut down for 21 days by the prosecution in the wake of the rape allegations.

Other patrons of the club had told police they had seen the pair in the bathroom and that the woman had run out looking very upset.

In September a video of a woman having sex with several men on the bar at Allenby 40 made the rounds on social media. Police concluded that although the woman was drunk, the sex had been consensual and no charges were filed.