Mia Schem Opens Up about Date Rape Allegations: "Even in Captivity, I Wasn’t in Such a State"

Mia Schem, a survivor of 54 days in Hamas captivity after being kidnapped from the Nova party on October 7, revealed harrowing details about being drugged and raped by a fitness trainer in Tel Aviv, leading her to file a police complaint.

In an interview with Channel 12’s weekend news, she shared, “I decided to tell the truth. I’m not the one who should hide. I was harmed. This past month, I’ve been confined at home, reaching extreme mental states. I’m the one who was hurt, and I’m dealing with immense challenges, even beyond this recent incident.”

She described the incident as her greatest fear: “Before captivity, during captivity, and now after. It happened in my home, my safest place. The most maddening part is I don’t remember, but my body remembers everything. It took time to connect the feelings, the body, to my consciousness. I want to know what happened during the time my memory was erased.”

Shem recounted meeting the trainer at a private Purim party, noting his prominence. Due to her captivity experience, her workouts needed to be tailored. She trained with him three times, initially perceiving no threat. He complimented her, engaged in personal conversations, and mentioned a Hollywood producer he wanted to introduce her to, which seemed plausible given her story and book-writing aspirations.

During their third session, he suggested meeting the producer at a busy lounge. After waiting nearly two hours with no producer, they rescheduled. The trainer then arranged a meeting at her home, supposedly to discuss her story. She ensured a friend was present for safety. The trainer arrived two hours late, and from that moment, her memory blanks.

Her friend Aivi recalled the trainer aggressively asking him to leave. Upon returning, Aivi found Schem disoriented. She vaguely remembers Aivi entering, sitting in a daze, and him realizing something was wrong. Aivi noted the trainer stopped her from drinking from a glass on the table.

Shem said, “I’ve never experienced memory loss or such lack of control. Even when injured in captivity, I wasn’t like this.” Her brother remarked she resembled her post-captivity self, crying uncontrollably, unable to piece things together.

Shem experienced physical pain and chronic symptoms she initially couldn’t connect. Flashbacks emerged days later, images of the trainer entering her closet and her being partially undressed, not alone. She feared what happened during her memory lapse. Checking their chats, she noticed his evasiveness. At a subsequent training session, accompanied by a friend, she sensed his changed demeanor, confirming her suspicions.

Meeting her mother later, she broke down, struggling to understand. A friend, a former addict, suggested she was drugged. Her mother described her as “shattered,” unable to bear what might have happened with two men in her home. Medical examination found evidence of intimate injury. The trainer denied the allegations but admitted entering her closet, claiming it was to confirm the “producer’s” address, named as “Joel Cohen,” a real producer.

Security footage showed another person entering her home. The trainer arrived at 4:00 PM, the “producer” around 6:30 PM, with the former leaving first, followed by the trainer 20 minutes later. Police noted the second person is in the U.S. The trainer failed polygraph questions about sexual contact, though he denied the accusations, claiming he returned to his parents’ home and hired an escort.

Schem expressed rage and despair: “I have no idea what he did. There’s too much to handle. No moment of peace. Others are being hurt. I’m in darkness, like in captivity without a hand to hold. How does this happen in my home, and he walks free? I haven’t processed captivity or what came before. I’m always surviving, on edge. This month, though physically free, I feel empty inside. This was my greatest fear my whole life.”

Another trainee previously reported inappropriate advances from the trainer. Her lawyer noted that date-rape drugs complicate evidence collection, neutralizing key testimony. A hair sample will be sent abroad to detect possible drug traces, though such substances dissipate quickly.

Shem emphasized continuing her fight: “This is a long criminal process. What will restore me is returning to my work. I have no choice: it’s my essence. I have a role in this world. There are still 59 hostages, and I never forget them.”

She first shared her story on Channel 12 last Thursday, saying, “I shouldn’t hide. In Hamas tunnels, without a hand, I had hope. Now I’m in darkness.” After the exposé, she posted on Instagram: “It’s not easy to reveal the truth, but sometimes silence protects others, not you.” She expressed gratitude for the overwhelming support.

The trainer, in his 30s, known for training celebrities, including a former prime minister, denied the charges. In a confrontation, both stood by their accounts, but gaps in the trainer’s story emerged. Shem filed the complaint confused and disoriented, found by a friend with no memory of the event, unaware of the second person invited by the trainer or what was done to her.

Channel 12 contributed to this article.