Goel Ratzon. 'It's all nonsense'
Photo: Reuters
Ratzon speaks out for first time, claims being threatened
Man living with 32 women opens his mouth in court for first time about month after being arrested, asserts he is innocent. 'I am being threatened. I did not admit to anything. Girls have never been enslaved. They had it good,' he says
After nearly a month in detainment, Goel Ratzon speaks out for the first time. The man living with 32 women in south Tel Aviv claimed during a hearing in Tel Aviv Magistrates' Court that he is innocent.
"They can say things about me, (but) they're not true. They are putting the squeeze on me during investigation." Ratzon is suspected of committing sexual offenses and of enslavement.
Women Speak Out
Avi Cohen
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Regarding the book of rules he allegedly wrote for the women and their children living with him, Ratzon said, "There was no book. That is an invention of the media."
Ratzon also addressed concerns that his wives would try to hurt themselves when he was arrested: "I didn't expect anything. Nothing was supposed to happen when they arrested me."
He also denied committing sexual offenses. "This is what the police claims, not me," he said.
Though this is the fifth time Goel Ratzon has been brought before the court to discuss extending his remand, it is the first time he has spoken.
Ratzon was arrested last month in a wide-scale joint operation of the Tel Aviv District Police, the Welfare Ministry, and the Tel Aviv District Prosecutor's Office. Ratzon, who runs a cult of dozens of women who worship him, obey him, and have thus far had dozens of children with him, is suspected of keeping people in slavery conditions and of sexual offenses, including rape.
Ratzon, 60, leads the group of women, all of whom are considered his wives even though he never actually married any of them. These women have continued to have children with him for years and joined his "tribe" that spans across a number of building complexes in Tel Aviv's Tikva quarter and another one in Gedera. Many of the childrens' names are derivatives of their father's name.
According to articles published on Ratzon in the past, his wives adore him and tattoo his name and face on their bodies.
