תושב בית שמש נאשם בעבירות מין בארבעה קטינים במקווה ובבתי כנסת

 https://www.kan.org.il/content/kan-news/local/1111025/

Translation by AI 

Jerusalem District Prosecution filed a severe indictment today (Tuesday, October 20, 2026) against 

Yechiel Yehoshua Brand, a 33-year-old resident of Beit Shemesh, for committing sex offenses against four minors aged 13 to 16.

According to media reports, the indictment filed in the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court charges Brand with committing indecent acts, indecent acts against a minor under the age of 14, and attempted indecent acts.

Key details from the indictment include:

• Exploitation of holy and public spaces: The defendant exploited various opportunities between 2024 and 2026 when the minors were in synagogues, ritual baths (mikvahs), and a supermarket in the city to assault them.

• Assault during prayer: In one described incident, Brand pressed against a minor and rubbed against him in a synagogue. Later, while the minor was praying the Shemoneh Esrei (Amidah) prayer, the defendant touched him multiple times. The minor tried to push his hand away and move to another spot, but the defendant followed him and continued his actions.

• Indecent acts in the mikvah: In one incident, the defendant touched a minor as he exited the immersion pool, and in another instance, he touched a minor in the changing area of the ritual bath.

• Abuse of a minor under 14: The fourth charge details multiple instances of sexual contact and indecent acts against a minor under the age of 14, including blocking his path on the stairs leading out of the immersion pool.