Last update - 00:00 08/07/2007
Judge sentences rapist of foreign worker to 3.5 years in jail
By Haaretz Service
A Tel Aviv District Court on Sunday sentenced a man convicted of raping a female foreign worker to 3.5 years in jail, a suspended prison sentence and ordered he pay NIS 60,000 in compensation to the woman.
David Ben-Ami, 62, of Ramat Gan, pleaded guilty to the rape of an Ecuadorian national as part of a plea bargain that struck issuing of threats, sexual harassment and another rape attempt from the indictment.
Ben-Ami was convicted for an incident that took place in October 2006, in which he approached the complainant who lived at his mother's apartment and whispered to her: "You've enchanted me." He then attempted to rape her.
In their ruling, the judges said her resistance saved her from being raped. They added that Ben-Ami selected: "as a victim to satisfy his needs a foreign worker who is a part of weak segment of society, and who is thousands of miles from her house and family who can offer her no protection."