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Freed Israeli hostage Mia Schem accused a Tel Aviv fitness influencer of drugging and raping her inside her own home earlier this year – a fear she carried while in Hamas captivity following the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
Schem, 22, addressed the high-profile case in a nationally televised interview with Channel 12 last week as speculation about the alleged sexual assault circulated for weeks after the trainer was briefly detained in March.
“This was my biggest fear my whole life, before captivity, during captivity,” she told the outlet, according to Haaretz. “And it happened to me after captivity, in my safest place.”
She claims the unidentified man, from whom she had received three previous training sessions, told her he wanted to introduce her to a Hollywood producer to discuss turning her harrowing story of survival while in Gaza into a movie.
The producer reportedly failed to show up at a hotel lobby, so a second meeting was booked at Schem’s home, she said in the interview.
The trainer asked a friend of Schem’s — who was at her home — to leave because of how sensitive the meeting would be with the purported producer.
After the pal left, the French-Israeli national told the local station that she doesn’t remember what happened.
“My body remembers; it feels everything,” she told 12 News, per Haaretz. “But I don’t know what happened.”
“It took me three days to connect the physical sensations to consciousness,” she then said.
Bits of her memory came back, including the trainer coming into her room while she was undressed and another person also in the apartment, she said.
After a friend told her she might have been drugged, Schem went to the police and underwent a medical examination that showed signs of sexual intercourse.
She also claimed she had marks on her body following the alleged sexual assault.
The fitness influencer has strongly denied any wrongdoing, according to reports.
His lawyer claimed that Schem returned for another gym session two days after the alleged attack “smiling,” though Schem countered during the interview that she hadn’t yet processed what happened to her.
While the trainer was arrested late last month, he was subsequently released due to insufficient evidence to keep him behind bars as the investigation continues, Ynet reported.
His lawyer also pointed to his release as another indication that he’s innocent.
The alleged rape was reported to police about six weeks ago, according to the outlet.
Schem was at the Nova music festival when Hamas terrorists carried out their surprise attack on Israel, shooting her in the arm and then abducting her back to Gaza, where she was held hostage for 55 days.
She was freed as part of a brief cease-fire deal between Israel and the terror group.
The tattoo artist previously described the traumatizing ordeal she faced while in captivity in Gaza, including her intense fear of being raped by her captor.
“His wife was outside the room with the children,” she said. “That was the only reason he didn’t rape me.”
If you have been sexually assaulted and live in New York, you can call 1-800-942-6906 for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the state, you can dial the 24/7 National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
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