J’lem man indicted for rape of Down’s syndrome girl

Nissim Pines accused of sex attack on 12-year-old in city center and second attack on neighbor, 14.

By RON FRIEDMAN
Rape victim (photo credit: Judy Siegel-Itzkovich)
Rape victim
(photo credit: Judy Siegel-Itzkovich)
Nissim Zada Pines, 19, was indicted by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office on Thursday, for sexual offenses allegedly committed against a 12-year-old girl with Down’s syndrome, following an attack in a Jerusalem coffee shop two weeks ago.
Pines was also indicted for sexually molesting and attempting to sodomize a 14- year-old neighbor near her school in the capital.
According to the indictment, Pines approached the 12-year-old early on Friday morning, February 4, and demanded that she have sex with him. He took her to a stairwell near a residential building, where he raped her.
After he was spotted by a security guard and a janitor, Pines led the girl to a nearby Aroma café, shoved her into the bathroom and locked the door behind them.
In the bathroom, Pines allegedly forcefully undressed the girl, instructed her to lie on the floor and proceeded to rape her again. For 40 minutes Pines abused the girl, only stopping after the cafe’s workers broke open the door, in response to customers’ complaints of yelling coming from the bathroom.
The workers found Pines standing naked in the bathroom.
He shouted at them and several minutes later came out with the disheveled, confused and tearful girl.
Pines told the workers she was 16 and his girlfriend and that he would be right back.
He then walked away and soon broke into a run.
Early the following Wednesday, Pines allegedly broke into and robbed an apartment. After throwing away some of the items he had taken, he allegedly came across a 14-year-old neighbor of his, walking her dog next to an elementary school.
When she told him that she was on her way to school, Pines asked her to show him the school, and they walked away, leaving the dog behind.
On the way, Pines asked her if she wanted NIS 10, according to the indictment. When she said no, he suggested that they enter the school. When the girl told him she wanted to go back to her dog, Pines told her not to worry. Pines then lifted her from the waist and led her to nearby bushes.
The girl tried to get away, but Pines allegedly forced her to the wall and demanded that she hug him. The girl repeatedly told him that she was not interested, and turned her head away when he tried to kiss her.
Pines allegedly ordered the girl to drop her pants, and when she refused, forced them down, along with her underwear, and began touching her buttocks.
Pines then allegedly tried to force his victim to perform indecent acts on him, but she continued to refuse. He then turned her around and forced her to the wall, pushing himself against her behind, according to the indictment.
The girl yelled for help, threatened to call police and tried to make a call on her cellphone while struggling with the attacker. In the scuffle, stolen credit cards fell out of Pines’s pants, according to the indictment. He ordered her to pick them up, but she refused and ran away in tears.
Minutes later, Pines allegedly came across a local man and asked him where he could buy dollars with the credit cards. The man referred him to a supermarket and called the police, who arrested Pines.
Pines denied any connection to either incident, but the state presented preliminary evidence, including security camera photos of him entering the coffee shop with the first victim, DNA evidence linking him to the spot, and fingerprints. The prosecution also the suspect’s long criminal record, in its request to have Pines held until the end of legal proceedings against him.
Pines was appointed a public defender and agreed to undergo psychiatric evaluation to determine his ability to stand trial before the next hearing in his case, next week.