Gur Levi Suspected of Filming Young Women in Fitting Rooms, Now Also Suspected of Rape

The Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court this morning, Thursday, extended by five days, until June 15, the remand of Gur Levi, who is suspected in three separate cases, one on suspicion of rape and two additional cases on suspicion of sexual harassment, invasion of privacy, and humiliating or degrading publication.

As first reported by Walla on June 3, one of the complainants is social media influencer Shir Weiss, who alleged that she was filmed naked inside a fitting room at a Bershka store in the TLV Mall in Tel Aviv. The suspect's photo was later published, and he was later arrested.

During the hearing, police asked to extend his remand by seven days. A police representative revealed that investigators have a video that, they claim, proves the suspect did indeed film one of the complainants. According to him, although there are no security cameras inside the fitting rooms, the store's peripheral cameras show the suspect "standing up and filming the fitting room next to him."

The suspect, for his part, claimed that while he was in the fitting room, one of the complainants shouted at him that she had seen him filming her. In his interrogation he did not deny that he was there, but said it may have been a misunderstanding and that "apparently I raised my hand to stretch it and they thought I was filming."

Police said the testimonies of the young women taken during the investigation paint a different picture. At the same time, overnight Levi was also questioned on suspicion of rape בעקבות a complaint filed after his photo was published.

According to the suspicion, the incident took place on May 30 at around 1:30 a.m. According to the complainant's account, a woman in her 20s, she met the suspect at a pub where she works. She said he told her he knew her, bought her an alcoholic drink, and the two sat and talked. Later, she told investigators, he persuaded her to go with him to his apartment, about a ten-minute walk from the place. On the way, she said, she met some of her friends.

According to her version, when they arrived at the apartment the two used drugs and also drank alcohol again. At some point he suggested that she change into his clothes. She said she went into the bathroom, and when she came out she already felt unwell, dizzy, and confused. She also told investigators that in the morning the suspect tried to penetrate her without her consent.

Afterward she left the place and, according to her, told her ex, whom she had broken up with about a month earlier, and her friends what had happened. Fearing she had contracted a disease or become pregnant, she went for tests at Ichilov Hospital, the results of which have not yet been received by police.

It also emerged during the hearing that after the incident the complainant tried to contact the suspect to understand what had happened between them. According to her, he responded with a chuckle, said he did not understand what she wanted from him, and claimed everything had been consensual. According to the information presented at the hearing, that conversation was apparently recorded and is expected to be handed over to police, who may use it in the investigation.

Police described the pace of the investigation as faster than expected. At this stage, the suspect is linked to three separate incidents, and over the next 24 hours investigators are expected to try to take testimony from additional women. However, police stress cautiously that there is no certainty that all of those women will indeed come to testify.

At the same time, investigators intend to locate and question friends who, according to the claim, met the complainant on the way to the suspect's apartment, in order to trace her condition during those hours and understand the sequence of events. At this stage, it was clarified at the hearing, there is no claim that the complainant was already intoxicated or disoriented at that point.

It also emerged that the suspect agreed to hand over his mobile phone to police, but refused to provide the access code. The police representative argued in court that he is a danger to the public and said, "The suspect is looking for victims day and night."

At the end of the hearing, Judge Ravit Peleg Bar Dayan ruled that there was reasonable suspicion that the suspect committed the offenses attributed to him, including rape, invasion of privacy, humiliating or degrading publication, and sexual harassment, and ordered his remand extended by five days, until June 15.

Attorney Shir Aharonson, who represents the suspect, said in response to Walla: "My client categorically denies the suspicions attributed to him. The investigation is at an early stage and we believe that as it progresses, a completely different picture will emerge from the one currently presented. At this stage there is no place to condemn him based on suspicions alone, and the presumption of innocence that applies to him must be respected."