Several young women accuse a leading rabbi of repeatedly sexually assaulting them and others in interviews with Channel 12.
The women describe how Rabbi Haim Yosef Abergel, A prominent Sephardic rabbi from the southern city of Netivot, repeatedly molested them in recent years, with some of them as young as 12 when the assaults started.
The young women describe how aides to the rabbi tried to silence them and their families with threats and bribes.
One of the women, who spoke on camera but was not identified, filed a complaint with police this morning. Channel 12 says police are likely to launch a formal investigation.
A lawyer for Abergel denied the accusations, calling them completely false and a blood libel.
Abergel made headlines recently with reports he was planning on establishing a new Sephardic ultra-Orthodox party to compete with Shas.
Abergel is the son of the late Rabbi Yoram Abergel, a popular rabbi who himself split with Shas in 2015. In 2013, the senior Abergel was arrested on suspicion of extortion in connection with threats against a mayoral candidate in Netivot, but the charges were dropped for lack of evidence.
Hellbound and Down 