Ex-top cop Nissan Shaham, to enter prison for sex offenses

The Supreme Court rejected an appeal on Monday by a former Jerusalem police chief against his prison sentence for sexual harassment, fraud and breach of trust convictions.

Nissan “Niso” Shaham was sentenced last year to 10 months in prison following a 2019 district court conviction on charges relating to misconduct involving several female officers under his command.

That ruling overturned an April 2018 verdict that convicted him only of the lesser charge of carrying out an indecent act.

Shaham is now set to enter prison on December 30.

According to the Haaretz daily, Shaham’s defense attorneys are expected to file a request for a further hearing in light of a disagreement between the judges over one of the instances for which he was convicted of breach of trust.

Shaham will serve 10 months behind bars and another five months of probation. He was also fined NIS 7,500 (approximately $2,400) and ordered to compensate two of the victims with NIS 1,500 (approximately $480) and a further victim with NIS 500 (approximately $160).

The judges ruled on Monday that the compensation determined for one of the victims was incorrect on a technicality, and canceled it.

Shaham was first convicted in April 2018 for kissing a junior officer, but was acquitted of the other charges filed against him. Prosecutors had claimed that on several occasions Shaham had coerced police officers into sleeping with him, and later made decisions about their careers.

He was sentenced in December 2018 to community service, but in September 2019, the Tel Aviv District Court accepted the appeal by the state, overturned the decision to clear Shaham of sexual harassment, fraud and breach of trust, and convicted him of the original charges.

It then kicked the case back down to the Magistrate’s Court for the sentencing. An appeal was heard and rejected by the Tel Aviv District Court in July 2020, before the case went to the Supreme Court ahead of Monday’s ruling.