Additional Complaint Against Suspect in Filming Young Woman in Fitting Room: "Distributed Intimate Footage"

During the detention extension hearing, police revealed that an additional complainant alleged Gur Levi filmed an intimate act between them without her consent - and distributed the footage. In the hearing, Levi's defense attorney claimed: "The grounds for detention are weakening as the investigation progresses", but the judge ruled there is danger and concern of obstructing the investigation - and extended his detention by five days

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What began as a complaint about filming inside a fitting room at a Tel Aviv store continues to branch into new and disturbing directions. In a hearing held today (Thursday) at the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court, it was revealed that in recent days an additional complaint was filed against Gur Levi, a 25-year-old Tel Aviv resident suspected of sex offenses and privacy violations.

The new complainant approached authorities after seeing media reports on the case and realized the suspect was allegedly continuing similar acts. She claimed Levi filmed an intimate act of the two without her consent - and even distributed the footage. The police representative at the hearing noted the suspect was questioned and linked himself to some of the incidents, but denied sending a video to the complainant. According to the representative, correspondence indicates otherwise.

According to police, the case - which is being accompanied by the prosecution - requires further investigative steps. Investigators noted they hold numerous media files requiring examination and that the possibility of identifying additional complainants cannot be ruled out as the probe continues. They also said there is genuine concern of obstructing investigative proceedings. The representative of the investigating unit added the suspect refused to provide the access code to his mobile phone, and during questioning suspicion arose that he deleted content from the device. It was further noted the investigation includes examining claims by one complainant that a date-rape drug may have been used.

Levi's defense attorney, Adv. Shir Aharonsohn, argued on the other hand that the grounds for detention are weakening as the investigation advances. She said most investigative actions have already been completed, the complainants have given their versions, a confrontation with one of them was held, and most witnesses have already been questioned. The attorney stressed the suspect cooperated with investigators, did not attempt to flee, and even came to the police station voluntarily after seeing reports about him. She claimed that if he had wanted to obstruct the investigation he would not have appeared of his own accord before the investigators.

Regarding the rape suspicion, the defense claimed the suspect does not deny having sexual relations with the complainant, but insists the relations were with full consent. The attorney further argued there is no objective evidence of a date-rape drug, no suspicious substances were found in the suspect's possession, and no test result indicating such a substance in the complainant's body was presented. She said this is a serious suspicion unsupported by sufficient evidence.

The defense also raised serious claims about the manner in which the investigation regarding the suspect's mobile phone was conducted. According to the attorney, the investigator asked him to open the device only to display the gallery, but after he did so she took the phone and left the interrogation room. She said this constitutes improper conduct that harms the suspect's rights and the fair process.

Judge Raveet Peleg Bar Dayan ruled there is reasonable suspicion against the suspect and that the investigation has expanded since the first complaint. In her decision to extend Levi's detention by five days, she noted that after the fitting-room filming complaint an additional rape complaint was added, and now also a complaint about non-consensual intimate filming. The judge determined that grounds of danger and concern of obstructing investigative proceedings exist.

The affair began earlier this month after influencer Shir Weiss posted on social media that while she was in a fitting room at a store in the TLV mall in Tel Aviv, she noticed a mobile phone raised above the partition filming her while she was naked. She said she confronted the man she claimed had filmed her on the spot, but he denied the act and left before security arrived.

She later filed a police complaint, which opened an investigation and collected footage from security cameras. After the police published the suspect's photo, additional reports were received from young women who identified him - and subsequently Levi, a Tel Aviv resident, was arrested. During the investigation the affair expanded, and police began examining suspicions of additional cases as well as receiving another complaint against him on suspicion of rape.

In the latest hearing in which Levi's detention was extended, the police representative claimed that during the investigation the suspect admitted to acts related to privacy violations, did not provide a substantial explanation for his conduct in fitting rooms, and said he acted out of "momentary gratification". It was further claimed that during the days of investigation preceding the hearing numerous actions were carried out, including taking testimonies, a confrontation between the suspect and one complainant, and additional interrogations, and that the evidence against him had strengthened significantly. According to investigators, Levi could not say how many women he had peeped at or how many he had harassed.

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