Tel Aviv nightlife figure sentenced to 4 years, 9 months for sex offenses

Nightclub owner and real estate entrepeneur Alon Kastiel was sentenced on Monday to four years and nine months in prison for sexual offences against four different women, to which he admitted under a plea deal with prosecutors.

As part of the plea bargain Kastiel, a prominent nightlife figure in Tel Aviv, admitted to attempted rape, indecent assault and sexual harassment. Fourteen women had made allegations against him, though only four were eventually included in the charge sheet.

The plea deal did not include an agreement on the sentence. The prosecution requested eight years behind bars, while his lawyer asked for 18 months.

In one case, Kastiel admitted to attempting to force a woman to engage in sexual relations with him in the back room of one of his clubs, despite her repeated protestations. She eventually managed to run off. In another, he forcibly carried out indecent acts against a woman at another club.

In two other cases, Kastiel attempted to forcibly kiss a woman and placed his hands on a woman’s breasts.

Judges at Tel Aviv’s District Court noted on the one hand the recurrent and violent nature of Kastiel’s actions, as well as his use of his status to attack his victims, and, on the other, his admission of guilt, expression of remorse, and submission to psychological treatment.

Kastiel will also compensate each of the women with sums between NIS 15,000 and NIS 50,000.