Father of singer Eyal Golan sentenced to two years in prison
Daniel Biton, 65, used his son’s fame to procure young women, including minors, for prostitution
The father of pop singer Eyal Golan was sentenced to two years in jail Wednesday after being convicted of procuring minors for purposes of prostitution, among other offenses.
Daniel Biton, who was also convicted in Tel Aviv District Court on charges of obstructing justice and destroying evidence, will begin serving his sentence on June 14.
In addition to serving his prison sentence, he must pay 50,000 shekels ($12,500) in compensation to each of the three plaintiffs in the case.
According to Biton’s indictment, he systematically arranged meetings between his son, singer Eyal Golan, and young female fans between 15 and 20 years of age at events where Golan performed, including the reality television programs “Eyal Golan Is Calling You” and “Hakochav Haba,” the Israeli edition of “Rising Star.”
The state turned down a request by Sasi Gez, Biton’s defense attorney, that Biton be granted a two-month delay in beginning his sentence so he could receive medical treatment, the Hebrew-language news site Ynet reported.
Biton, 65, of Or Akiva, signed a plea-bargain deal with the State Prosecutor’s Office about two weeks ago.
He was convicted of a series of sexual offenses against the three young women — who, according to officials of the State Prosecutor’s Office, were approximately 50 years younger than he. “The girls were suffering hardship,” the officials said. “They were in a complex emotional situation. There was no balance of power.”
He was charged with using his son’s fame as a well-known performer to take advantage of the girls, knowing that they suffered socioeconomic hardship and had difficulties at home. In one case, he sent a teenage girl to a sexual encounter with a friend of his, promising the friend that the girl would obey his every wish.
The indictment stated that Biton “used his family connection with Eyal to increase his standing among Eyal’s female fans and his own acquaintances. He would trick the young fans and treat them in a scornful and humiliating manner, as though they were objects whose purpose was to gratify and serve him, including his and his acquaintances’ sexual desires.”
