TEL AVIV – An Israeli court on Tuesday sentenced an Israeli polygamist to 30 years imprisonment for sex crimes against a host of women he coerced into living with him in a sect-like residence in south Tel Aviv.
Goel Ratzon, 64, was convicted in September, after a four-year high-profile trial, of various counts of rape, sodomy and indecent acts.
However, he had been acquitted of another charge that he held the women in slave-like circumstances, with the judges arguing that he used emotional but no physical, means to keep the women from fleeing.
According to a report, Ratzon was handed another 30 months on probation and ordered to pay recompensation of up to 140,000 Israeli shekels (almost 40,000 dollars) to several of the women. (dpa/NAN)
