Bnei Sela was convicted in 2000 of sexual offenses including sexual assault, rape and sodomy acts. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison, the most severe punishment imposed on a sex offender in Israel up to that time.
In 2006 he managed to escape while in the custody of the police, was captured two weeks later following an extensive manhunt. In 2015, his cellmate in the prison complained to the prison service officials that he was raped by Sela. The release committee will discuss in May the early release of the serial rapist.