Justice has been served
Ultra-Orthodox Doctor Sentenced to 31 Years for Decades of Sadistic Abuse Against Daughters
Israeli court hands down unprecedented prison term to 70-year-old father of 12 who exploited his position as physician to systematically abuse two daughters for over 20 years, beginning when they were ages 5 and 8
The Central District Court in Lod issued an unprecedented 31-year prison sentence on Monday to a formerly respected ultra-Orthodox physician, now 70 and father of 12 children, who was convicted of numerous severe and brutal offenses against two of his daughters over more than two decades.
"The Most Difficult Case This Court Has Known"
The verdict is extremely difficult to read, detailing descriptions of sadism and incomprehensible cruelty. The crimes for which he was convicted are among the most serious seen in Israeli courts, with detailed cases demonstrating cruel and evil sadism by the father toward his daughters, when he not only committed the offenses themselves but also employed severe physical violence.
At the opening of the sentencing, the judges wrote: "Today we are sentencing the defendant in the most difficult and severe case this court has ever known. The severity stems from the nature of the offenses and their duration, but primarily from the cruelty the defendant displayed toward the victims, both during the commission of the acts and afterward, and from the damage these acts left on the victims."
Systematic Exploitation of Trust and Authority
The physician was convicted after evidentiary proceedings in which both daughters testified courageously on 22 different charges of numerous serious offenses demonstrating his extreme and incomprehensible cruelty toward his daughters over the years. He exploited his authority as a physician to control his daughters and even prescribed them sedatives.
According to the court, the defendant exploited his authority and power as a parent, his daughters' young age, their status as helpless minors and their innocence, the absolute trust they placed in him by virtue of being their father, his complete control over them, and their fear for the fate of the entire family, all to do with them as he pleased and enslave them to his needs.
"In his eyes, each complainant separately was like an inanimate object, a tool designed to satisfy his impulses, and the only consideration before him and guiding him was satisfying his twisted urges at any cost," the judges wrote.
The charges of which the physician was convicted were carried out with ongoing sadism, with clear elements of physical and psychological abuse.
Prosecution Sought Maximum Penalty
During sentencing arguments, Attorney Yael Zelig from the Central District Prosecutor's Office requested the court impose 37 years of actual imprisonment on the defendant, as well as maximum compensation for the victims, noting this was one of the most serious cases brought before the court and warranted the harshest and most deterrent punishment at the highest level.
Ultimately, the judges of the Central District Court in Lod, Deputy President Liora Brody, Judge Michal Barak Nevo, and Judge Michael Tamir. sentenced him to 31 years in prison and compensation totaling 438,000 shekels for the daughters.
Judges' Personal Message to the Victims
At the conclusion of the sentencing, the judges wrote "words from the heart" to the two daughters:
"We cannot complete the task of sentencing without addressing you both. Like everyone who met you on your journey seeking justice, we were deeply impressed by you. You are wise, kind-hearted, noble, strong, and sensitive women. We were impressed by your courage to testify before us, despite the immense difficulty in doing so. We know you acted solely out of a desire to protect your sisters, despite knowing you would pay an unbearably heavy price, as you indeed are paying.
"If the terrible harm your father inflicted on you, both physically and mentally, wasn't enough, he has succeeded, at least so far, in causing even your family to believe him and ostracize you. We sincerely hope that now, at least part of your family, especially your mother who failed to protect you in your youth, will atone for the treatment they gave you, believe you, and understand you.
"We understand the difficulty for family members to absorb the knowledge that the beloved and admired father had additional faces, hidden and terrible. Nevertheless, it's possible our ruling will convince some of them to believe and embrace you back into the family fold."
The judges addressed the victims' feelings of guilt mentioned in victim impact reports: "You should not feel any guilt whatsoever, certainly not for what your father did to you, but also not for 'the family's disintegration.' You had no choice but to stop the defendant's actions in the way you did. You did it without choice, and the choice to break up the family is your father's choice, the defendant, who chose, to protect himself, to falsely accuse you of lying, imagining, and other baseless slanders.
"We hope the new families you have established will be a source of strength and comfort, and we are certain you will be wonderful mothers to your children."
Attorney Yael Zelig, the prosecutor in the case, stated after sentencing: "Today a severe and chilling verdict was delivered in one of the most difficult cases adjudicated in Israeli courts. The Central District Court sentenced the defendant to a lengthy prison term of 31 years, after he was convicted of severe and ongoing harm to his two daughters over decades, from when they were young girls until adulthood.
"This is a ruling that makes clear unequivocally: there is no immunity for anyone, not even for someone cloaked in the appearance of a dedicated physician, exemplary family man, and respected community figure. Behind this facade hid a criminal who inflicted deep and severe harm on those who were supposed to be most protected.
"The court placed full trust in the victims' testimonies and completely rejected the attempts at denial, accusation, and defamation made against them. The verdict contains deep recognition of the heavy price they paid and continue to pay, mentally, familially, and socially, to this day. In practice, the defendant shattered and trampled his daughters' childhood, and it will never return to them.
"The courage of the complainants to stand on the witness stand, to tell the truth, even as their close world collapsed around them, is exceptional courage. This verdict is a clear statement from the justice system: We see you, believe you, and support you. This is a painful day, but also a day of achieving justice."