Senior Israeli Doctor Sentenced to Six Years for Rape and Sexual Assault

A Tel Aviv District Court has sentenced Professor Arieh Levin, a prominent pediatric gastroenterologist and former head of a unit at Wolfson Medical Center, to six years in prison for severe sexual offenses, including rape, indecent assault, and abuse of power. The prosecution had sought a 13-year sentence.

Levin admitted to the facts of a revised indictment as part of a plea deal that did not include an agreement on the sentence. Under the deal, he committed to depositing NIS 750,000 as compensation for the victims before sentencing arguments and to notify the Ministry of Health that he would no longer practice medicine, seeking to permanently cancel his license.

The indictment detailed that Levin, an expert in pediatric gastroenterology since 1998 and head of the pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition unit at Wolfson from 2003, also treated patients privately. He was convicted of raping the mother of a minor patient in 2013 when she visited his office to collect her son's medical documents. He was also convicted of four counts of indecent assault against a colitis patient between 2017 and 2018 during or near medical treatments, and another indecent assault against a patient in March 2021 after a medical examination.

Additionally, Levin was convicted of abusing his power by performing invasive medical examinations on a patient between 2010 and 2012 without informed consent from her or her mother, violating patient rights. The court noted the severe and extensive damage to the victims, describing one as "broken and shattered" and another as suffering "multi-dimensional psychological and physical damage." The court also considered Levin's age, 69, that this would be his first prison term, and his request to cancel his medical license.

Levin's defense attorneys stated that while he took full responsibility for the acts he admitted to and expressed remorse, the most serious charges of child sexual abuse were dropped. They highlighted the significant difference between the initial accusations and the final verdict, emphasizing that Levin's insistence on the facts revealed a dramatic gap.