Yossi Yanai, former Israeli journalist, was sentenced Monday by a New York Court to 11 years in prison for sexual offenses ,US media reported.
Some three years ago, five women, aged 18-25, filed complaints against Yanai, 69, for sexually assaulting them. According to the sentence, Yanai had taken advantage of women who were alone in the US, by preventing them from contacting anyone but him.
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According to the indictment, between the years 2003-2009, he concocted a web of lies so as to convince the young women to enter the US and then sexually exploited them in his house.
Yanai was convicted two years ago and has been in jail since. During Monday's sentencing hearing, the prosecution pushed for 30-year imprisonment sentence, but the New York judge decided to take Yanai's deteriorating health into account and sentenced him to 11 years.
Seeing as he has been in jail since his 2010 arrest, his imprisonment will end in eight years. According to his lawyer, he will nonetheless file an appeal.
The list of offenses includes sexual exploitation, fraud and encouraging foreigners to enter the US without proper visa.