79-Year-Old Man Sentenced to 24 Years for Severe Sex Crimes Against 11-Year-Old Girl

The Haifa District Court on Thursday sentenced 79-year-old northern resident Aryeh Gotlib to 24 years in prison for a series of severe sex offenses committed between 1997 and 2001 against a complainant who was 11 at the time. Gotlib denied the charges throughout the proceedings, but was recently convicted after the court found the victim’s testimony credible.

According to the ruling, the girl had arrived in Israel with her family, and Gotlib used his protective role toward her relatives to attack her repeatedly and commit serious sexual offenses. The court said many years passed before the complainant gathered the strength to file a complaint.

Judges added that the effects of the crimes still remain in her life, saying the scars of the defendant’s actions are still present in her psyche. They also noted that although Gotlib is elderly and ill, the extreme severity of his conduct required a lengthy prison term, which they set at 24 years.

Attorney Sophie Granit, who represents the victim through the Justice Ministry legal aid service, said the verdict and sentence were a clear acknowledgment of the grave harm suffered and of the courage required to speak out. She said the court affirmed that a defendant can be convicted on the basis of a single victim’s testimony if it is found reliable and consistent, and that the passage of time does not prevent the truth from being established.