A Haifa court on Sunday indicted an 18-year-old Acre resident on suspicion that he assaulted and attempted to rape a British tourist in Acre earlier this month.

According to the Justice Ministry, the victim, 35, and her husband were touring the ancient city earlier this month when she noticed that her scarf was missing. She began retracing her steps, while her husband returned to their vehicle.

The woman returned to the site of Napoleon's cannon in the Old City, where she was approached by Mahmoud Tabrani, who was in the area with another person, a minor. He asked the woman her name and held out his hand for her to shake. The woman asked Tabrani to leave her alone. He then allegedly assaulted her, pinned her to the ground, covered her mouth and lay on top of her while trying to remove her pants. The more she resisted, the more aggressive he became, according to the indictment.

Tabrani allegedly grabbed the victim by the hair and slammed her head into the ground several times. He then punched her in the head.

According to the indictment, the suspect wrestled the victim's phone away from her when she tried to call her husband for help, and disappeared with the phone.

The State Prosecutor's Office has asked to keep the suspect in custody until the conclusion of the trial.