According to the amended indictment to which he pleaded guilty and was convicted, over a period of approximately 10 years, the defendant committed a long series of severe sexual offenses against his partner’s minor daughter, with whom he lived and served as a father figure. These offenses began when the victim was about 4 years old and continued until she was 14. The acts were committed within the family unit and in her living environment, over the years, frequently and systematically, through cruel exploitation of familial closeness, dependency, and his position within the home.
In this context, he repeatedly committed offenses of raping a minor family member, as well as multiple offenses of indecent acts against a minor family member. In the sentencing, the respondent was sentenced to 16 years of actual imprisonment, suspended sentences, and compensation to the victim in the amount of 258,000 shekels.
In the appeal, the Criminal Department of the State Attorney’s Office, through Adv. Noga Ben Sidi, argued that the sentence imposed is significantly lenient and does not reflect the exceptional severity of the acts, their duration, frequency, and the severe and ongoing harm caused to the minor, who suffers from complex and severe psychological damage affecting all areas of her life.
The prosecution noted that the defendant repeatedly harmed her throughout her childhood and adolescence, precisely in the place where she was supposed to be protected and safe, within her family and home, thereby deeply violating her basic trust and sense of security. The prosecution emphasized that the defendant’s confession within the legal proceedings was not given in advance, but rather was obtained after hearing evidence, including the minor’s testimony in court, and that there is no justification for significant leniency in these circumstances.
It was further argued that tangible and deterrent punishment for severe sexual offenses within the family is a paramount public interest, for the protection of minors and the deterrence of offenders, and that the situation where such a severe and ongoing series of offenses receives a sentencing response that does not befit its severity cannot be accepted. Accordingly, the prosecution requested the Supreme Court to accept the appeal and increase the prison sentence imposed on the defendant.
In the Tel Aviv-Jaffa District Court, the case was handled by Adv. Diya Ben Assa Zigelman.
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