A resident of northern Israel was convicted on Sunday of sexually assaulting his 15-year-old daughter, his 14-year-old son, and of physically abusing his other two children.

The man was convicted once in the past of violent crimes against family members, and served a three and a half year sentence.

The father, who threatened to kill all of his children, committed the acts in question over a period of time from November 2004 to August 2005, after he got out of prison and was confined under house arrest. The father would harass the girl, kick and beat her severely, and assault her sexually. The daughter testified that the father tried three times to rape her without success. After this, the daughter fled the house and squatted in a nearby field for two days without food or drink.

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The father was also convicted of throwing his 14-year-old son's head against a refrigerator and a steel door, and of striking him on a number of occasions. As a result of the abuse he suffered, the son fled the house on two separate occasions.

The two youngest children in the family were also attacked by the father, when according to their testimony, they awoke him from sleep accidentally.

While the father admitted to the charges that he struck his younger children, he denied all other charges leveled against him, claiming that his wife coerced his daughter to falsely testify against him.

The Haifa District Court was unanimous in the guilty verdict.

"The violent acts committed by the defendant against his children constitute abuse and torture because of their severity and frequency," the court statement read.