Bus Driver Charged 8 Years After Alleged Sex Crimes Against Two High School Students
Eight years after the alleged incidents, prosecutors in southern Israel filed an indictment on Monday against Hi Chen Nagar, 50, a bus driver from Tel Aviv, accusing him of sexual offenses against two 17-year-old students during an 11th-grade trip in southern Israel under the “Israeli Journey” program. The Southern District Prosecution filed the case in the Beersheba District Court. According to the indictment, one count involves an indecent act and another involves rape.
The case had previously been closed by the Southern District Prosecution for lack of evidence, and in 2020 police even sought to destroy physical evidence collected in the investigation, including discs recording the suspect’s interrogation and a rape kit taken from the main complainant. One of the complainants appealed the closure, leading to a renewed review of the evidence. The prosecution said the case was originally examined in 2018, closed after investigative steps were completed, then reopened after the appeal and a hearing, which ended with a decision to file charges.
According to the indictment, during an overnight stay at a desert khan, Nagar came to the tent of one student, brought alcohol, and offered to take him to a guesthouse in Sde Boker. The student allegedly drank heavily, became disoriented, and while asleep in the driver’s room was subjected to an indecent act. He managed to push Nagar away and told him to leave.
In a second incident, Nagar allegedly invited another student to his room at the Masada hostel to watch soccer and drink alcohol. After the student drank several cups of whiskey mixed with beer and became disoriented, he was allegedly raped. His friends searched for him, reached Nagar’s room, and after threatening to break the door, Nagar opened it. The student emerged unsteady, was taken by friends, later vomited, and a school staff member was alerted. Police from Arad arrived and arrested Nagar. His lawyer, Ariel Shmul, said the case had once been closed and now rests on “a weak evidentiary basis,” while Nagar denies the allegations and says he will be vindicated in court.
