A 22-year-old Israeli man was on Monday sentenced to 21 years in prison for a brutal assault and rape of a 17-year-old boy two years ago.
Matan Lugassi, 22, has also been ordered by the Tel Aviv District Court to pay a compensation to the teen in the amount of NIS 100,000 for the acts committed in March of 2018.
He was convicted in September of 2019 on charges of rape, sodomy and robbery. The name of the victim and the exact location of the attack is currently under a gag order.
According to the indictment, the intoxicated Lugassi spotted the random teenager on the streets of one of the central cities. He approached the youth, began brutally hitting the boy and led the disoriented teen to an abandoned building, where he committed a brutal rape that lasted over two hours.
During the assault, the man threatened the teen and hit him several times. He then took his cellphone, his debit card and ordered the victim to follow him to the nearest ATM machine, where the boy withdrew the cash from his account and handed it to the defendant.
The indictment says Lugassi then told the teen he would be waiting for him near the ATM the following day at 2pm. The teen then made his way home, where his parents called the emergency services and alerted the police. The man was arrested shortly after the police opened an investigation.
Judges Gilad Nuitel, Limor Bibi and Tali Haimovich in their sentencing statement called the crime “shocking in its wickedness and cruelty.”
“The abuse lasted for over two hours despite the pleas of the battered and bloodied victim, the defendant didn’t show a flicker of compassion or humanity, which warrants the punishment given.”
“No punishment will heal the scars inflicted on the victim and his family and all that remains is to encourage, embrace and support him,” said the victim’s lawyer Alon Shlicht. “We would also like to thank the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office for the professionalism and humanity shown toward the victim and his family.”
Attorney Roi Sherman, who reprsents the defendant, said he regrets that the court "chose to ignore the evidence proving the defendant's innocence."
He said the defendant intends to appeal the sentencing.