Ex-IDF officer convicted of multiple sex offences, invasion of privacy

A former senior Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officer was convicted yesterday of numerous sex offences and invasion of privacy charges.

Israeli occupation officer Dan Sharoni was arrested in 2021 for secretly filming his female subordinates while they were nude, as well as collecting sexual images of soldiers and civilians over at least eight years. He was dismissed from duty that same year.

According to the Times of Israel, a military court found Sharoni guilty of 67 offences in total including 23 counts of indecency, 39 counts of privacy violation, three counts of illegal computer hacking, one count of attempted indecency for installing a hidden camera in someone’s room, and one count of conduct unbecoming a soldier.

The IDF said the court “fully accepted the testimonies of the victims of the crime, and rejected the defendant’s version that he acted out of a non-sexual motive.”

The December 2021 indictment revealed that Sharoni secretly filmed soldiers under his command using various hidden cameras, including those concealed within phone chargers or in their barracks and showers. Moreover, Sharoni allegedly confiscated soldiers’ phones under seemingly innocent pretences, then searched for and copied any nude or intimate photos to his own device.

Though most of the victims were soldiers, Sharoni also installed devices in homes, thereby filming civilians as well. The charges detailed that Sharoni committed these crimes from 2013 to 2021, during his service in three different military units.

No immediate date has been set for Sharoni’s sentencing. In the meantime, the army has said he will undergo a sexual risk assessment.

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