"You're going to prison": Attacked a minor in a synagogue and threatened to expose her intimate recordings

The Lod District Court sentenced a 29-year-old man to six and a half years in prison for managing a relationship with a 17-year-old minor, repeatedly beating her, threatening to distribute intimate photos, committing an indecent act by force, kidnapping her, and threatening her with a knife. The defendant was also convicted of violence against a previous partner. The judge ruled that the age gap and his criminal record led to a harsher sentence.

The Central District Court in Lod sentenced a 29-year-old man to six and a half years in prison for managing a relationship with a 17-year-old minor over nine months. According to the indictment, the defendant held dozens of intimate photos and videos of the minor on his phone, and during the relationship he violently attacked her, including kicks, punches, and slaps. He threatened to distribute her intimate recordings, committed an indecent act by force in a synagogue, kidnapped her into his car while threatening her with a knife, and told her "I'm going to prison for you." In a separate case joined to the proceedings, the defendant was convicted of severe violence against a previous partner, including headbutting, choking, scratching, and death threats. The prosecution sought 11 years in prison, while the defense argued that the indecent act was at a low level and requested 12 to 36 months. Judge Ami Kobu ruled that the harm to protected values was at a significant level, given the severity of the acts, the repetition, the escalation, the 12-year age gap, and the defendant's criminal record including five prior convictions. The defendant was ordered to compensate the minor 25,000 shekels and the second complainant 10,000 shekels.