Israeli Cult Leader With 32 Wives And 49 Children Sentenced To 30 Years On Multiple Sex Charges

Convicted Israeli cult leader, Goel Ratzon, was sentenced by the Tel Aviv District Court to 30 years behind bars on Tuesday for a variety of sex crimes, including rape, sodomy, sex with a minor, indecent assault and fraud.

Ratzon, who calls himself a “spiritual guru,” was convicted in September for the numerous sex charges against him, although he was acquitted of holding one of his victims in sexual slavery against her will.

In their verdict on the case, the judges noted, “If we would have issued a sentence for each count separately, the sentence would have been in the triple digits,” explaining why the sentences run concurrently.

The convicted cult leader, 64, was also ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution to his victims, most of whom were brainwashed by him into believing that he was the Messiah and that engaging in sexual activity with him was “hastening the redemption.”

Ratzon’s evil ways were discovered sort of by accident. as the result of a TV report and an ensuing police investigation, which revealed that he was presiding over his own harem in Tel Aviv, which included as many as 21 women, some of whom had entered into a relationship with him while still teenagers.

All-in-all, as per reports from various Israeli publications, Ratzon allegedly had a total of 32 wives, dating back to 1991, and fathered an astounding 49 children with the women, even though more than 60 children were allegedly involved in his cult.

According to Ratzon, he did nothing wrong, as he famously said following his arrest that “petting young girls wasn’t rape.”

Ratzon’s sentencing had been delayed earlier in the day after he failed to appear in court. The twist to the story is that the reason Ratzon didn’t make it to court was due to a prison service mishap, which officials blamed on a “computer glitch” in which Ratzon was left behind in his cell as the court awaited his arrival.