Prosecutors seeking 40-year sentence for Netanyahu driver

Prosecutors are demanding a 40-year jail sentence for a former driver of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convicted of a series of sexual assaults against young girls.

Ilan Shmuel, 52, from Moshav Zecharia, was found guilty last month of rape, indecent assault, and sodomy on a series of young girls over a 20-year period, many of them family members.

According to Channel 10 news, prosecutors want Shmuel put away for 40 years for his crimes.

Ilan Shmuel, 52, former driver for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen as he arrives at the Jerusalem's magistrates court to face charges of sexual assault, April 24, 2014 (photo credit: Flash90)
Ilan Shmuel, 52, former driver for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen as he arrives at the Jerusalem’s magistrates court to face charges of sexual assault, April 24, 2014 (photo credit: Flash90)

Police first began an investigation into Shmuel two years ago after a woman, now an adult, claimed the suspect had sexually assaulted her from when she was 9 until she was 16.

Investigators discovered nine more women and young girls who had been victims of Shmuel.

In the intervening period, Shmuel continued to work as a driver at the Prime Minister’s Office, including duties behind the wheel of Netanyahu’s limousine.

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