Beersheba court sentences defendants in Eilat gang rape case

(Warning: The following article covers graphic topics such as sexual assault and rape.)

The Beersheba District Court sentenced eight additional suspects in the Eilat rape case to prison on Monday, Israeli media reported. Additionally, the complainant will be compensated with tens of thousands of shekels.

Three and a half years ago, the complainant,16 years old at the time, was gang raped by numerous young men at the Red Sea Hotel in Eilat.  

Twin brothers, 17 years old at the time and convicted of two felonies, were sentenced to eight and a half years in prison in addition to compensating the complainant with NIS 70,000, KAN News reported. 

Another accused, 19 at the time, was convicted of two offenses of aiding and abetting the rape and was sentenced to seven years in prison in addition to compensating the complainant with NIS 50,000. 

Two other defendants, also 17 years old at the time, were convicted of two offenses of aiding the rape and numerous offenses of indecent acts, and were sentenced to a prison sentence of four and a half years. In addition, the two are required to compensate the complainant with NIS 40,000 each.

Another individual, 17 at the time, was sentenced to 27 months in prison and compensated the complainant NIS 25,000. 

Another defendant, close to 18 years old at the time, was convicted of aiding and abetting rape and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison and compensating the complainant NIS 30,000.

Another defendant, also 17 at the time, was convicted of soliciting indecent acts and was sentenced to five months of community service and compensating the complainant NIS 10,000. 

Sentencing the ringleaders

In February, the same court sentenced the two ringleaders of the gang rape, Isi Rafilov, 27, and Ilizir Meirov, 26, to double-digit years in prison for their crimes.

Rafilov was convicted of two counts of rape, two counts of aiding rape, indecent acts, and invasion of privacy, according to an earlier Jerusalem Post report. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison with a NIS 200,000 fine.

Meirov was convicted of rape and gang rape and was sentenced to 14 years in prison and a NIS 100,000 fine.  

The night of the rape

The night of the rape, the complainant attended a party in one of the hotel rooms with her friends. After becoming extremely intoxicated and collapsing, Meirov and Rafilov encountered her and said that they were trained in first aid and could help her. They convinced her friends to bring the complainant to another room and told the friend to get the complainant water and other supplies from the hotel kiosk. 

Although the friend was hesitant to leave the complainant alone, Meirov and Rafilov told her she had nothing to worry about because he had a sister the same age as the victim. 

Soon after she left, Rafilov stripped the complainant and raped her twice. When the friend returned, she tried to remove the complainant unsuccessfully. Rafilov then called in Meirov to rape her. Rafilov filmed him without Meirov's knowledge. 

One of the defendants saw the incident unfolding as he walked by and called others to watch. Those that came cheered the rape on. Rafilov invited them to rape her as well. 

At this point, the aforementioned twin brothers and their friend entered the room, and the brothers proceeded to rape the complainant as the friend watched.

The court did not charge the friend with aiding the rape but decided to add the conviction since he was in the room and contributed to the atmosphere. The court stated that watching the rape itself was an obscene act. 

In total, 11 were found guilty of multiple accounts of rape or sexual offenses in September 2023, after being indicted three years earlier. 

The victim did not know what had happened to her until Rafilov sent her a message telling her that there were videos of the assault. When he refused to send her the videos, she reported the incident to the police. 

The panel of judges, led by Judge Yael Raz Levy, Gilat Shalev, and Aharon Mishnayot, wrote while sentencing Rafilov and Meirov, "This is the story of a young, joyful, and life-loving girl who, while spending her summer vacation in Eilat, consumed alcoholic drinks. The defendant approached her like a predator," Israeli media reported.

"From there, in a sudden and nightmarish turn, what began as an outing with friends turned into an abusive event during which, over the course of an hour, she was harmed by numerous defendants. Everyone who entered the room was aware of what was happening, and not only did none of them stop the assault, but they joined in with laughter, each adding fuel to the fire. None of them spared her," the judges said.

Tamar Uriel Beeri, Michael Starr, and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.