The s3x crimes trial of prominent Israeli actor Moshe Ivgy opened Monday on the Haifa Magistrate’s Court, the place he faces 4 counts of indecent acts and three of s3xual harassment.
Ivgy, 64, refused to talk with reporters as he entered the courtroom to listen to the fees in opposition to him. The court docket session was held behind closed doorways.
Prosecutors stated they filed the fees final month after discovering adequate proof that Ivgy had exploited his standing to commit indecent acts and s3xually harass 4 ladies in 2012 and 2013, a few of them in his office.
Rumors in November of a plea deal, whereby Ivgy would admit to the allegations however not face felony prices, had been denied by the prosecution.
The prizewinning actor and director was born in Morocco and moved to Israel together with his dad and mom as a child.
The preliminary accusations in opposition to Ivgy had been leveled in February 2016.
Of six authentic accusers, 4 ladies had been keen to cooperate with the police investigation.
All six accused Ivgy of harassing them whereas they had been working collectively on varied movies, TV exhibits, and performs.
The ladies informed the Walla information web site of personal rehearsals wherein Ivgy would power himself on them, usually insisting on pointless “rehearsing” of intimate scenes, and kissing them in opposition to their will.
Ivgy, who denies any wrongdoing, stated in February 2016 he would take a break from performing for the length of the probe.
“In light of the wave of reports rocking my life and causing my family much grief, I have decided to take a timeout,” Ivgy stated in a assertion final yr, “I repeat – I did not harm a single person, man or woman.” He declined to reply to the allegations publicly, however stated he “would do so fully” within the police investigation.
Ivgy has appeared in dozens of movies, performs and tv exhibits, together with “Hunting Elephants” (2013) and Steven Spielberg’s “Munich,” and gained an Ophir — Israel’s Academy Award — for his supporting function in “Metallic Blues” in 2004, the identical yr he was nominated for Best Actor for his function within the award-winning “Campfire.”
In October 2016 Ivgy was awarded Best Actor in a Feature Film by the Haifa International Film Festival on Monday for his function within the movie “The 90 Minute War,” prompting outrage from ladies’s rights teams.