Haifa Court Hands 24-Year Sentence to Man Convicted of Sexual Abuse of Girl

The Haifa District Court on Thursday sentenced Arie Gotlieb to 24 years in prison for serious sexual offenses against a girl. The abuse took place more than two decades ago, when the victim was a new immigrant and Gotlieb was trusted by her family.

According to the verdict, between 1997 and 2001 Gotlieb took a family of immigrants under his protection and used his status and proximity to repeatedly abuse their daughter. The victim only filed a police complaint years later, after she was grown. The judges wrote that the harm has left lasting scars and remains present in her life today.

The court said it took into account Gotlieb’s advanced age and illness, but ruled that the extreme severity of the crimes outweighed those factors. He has not yet begun serving the sentence and is represented by the Public Defender’s Office. If he serves the full term without reduction, he would be released at age 103.