The Chaser that changed my life

After the parole board approved the early release of sex offender Alon Kastiel, Ofri Yahav, one of the main victims in the indictment against him participates in a special column for Walla!

In her hard feelings.

"" No one cares about the victims, I realized money can buy freedom "

Ofri Yahav

16/05/2022

Monday, 16 May 2022, 19:15

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In the video: Alon Kastiel arrives at Hermon Prison to serve his sentence (Photo: Haim Shafir, Editing: Yair Daniel)

I found out he was being released through the media.

No one cared about the victims, of course the prisoner, all the attention was only towards him.

So why would anyone bother to call G, S?

And I really have no words to describe how annoying it is, the fact that she had to go through "Via de la Rosa" in order to get to the committee at all.

I was not at all given the privilege of coming to the committee.

Last year we were told to 'write letters' that are not sure they will be addressed and treated at all, but at least they gave us the option to write a letter.

From the beginning the punishment was funny.

The authority demanded 8 years, he eventually got 4.9, and he did not fulfill them completely either.

When I say he did not comply - he has already filed an appeal to the Supreme Court within a few months.

Another rapist and I went to court to talk, and even then it was not understood that we would talk.

We fought for it.

Ofri Yahav (Photo: Official website, courtesy of the photographer)

I want to describe to you what I went through, so that you will hear again what I went through, and why it is forbidden to shorten a day.

My story, my assault, happened in 2015. I have an early acquaintance with Alon, at the level of peace-peace from nightlife.

Not a close acquaintance.

One evening after he texted me that he was inviting me and my friends to join the party, I told him we were sitting and drinking at the club.

He sent me a message if he could join.

He arrived, and at some point accompanied me to buy something at the kiosk.

On the way back he tried to kiss me.

I refused and told him that if that's the story - I'm really not interested in him.

He claimed he was completely respectful, he completely understood and apologized and asked to stay with us.

We all stayed together, planned to go into some party, and then Alon suggested to me and another friend to continue moving with him to another club.

My friend and I got in a taxi with him, entered the club and he offered me a chaser at the bar.

This is the chaser that changed my life.

After drinking the Chaser I felt as bad as I had never felt in my life.

I went to the bathroom and locked myself there, partly because of fear of Alon.

I vomited in the toilet and lost consciousness.

In hindsight I found out that some guy grasped the situation and called Alon.

Alon knew the managers, and they and a collection of security guards opened the door and took me outside.

More on Walla!

The parole board has approved: Alon Kastiel will be released from prison, more than a year before the scheduled time

To the full article

I sat on the floor begging them to call my friend, whom I trust.

Alon told the security guards that he would take care of me and everything would be fine.

He and the security guard took me out and put me in a taxi.

Luckily for me it's very big, even though I'm vomiting on Alon's coat, I tell the driver my parents 'address and I tell him it's my parents' house.

Alon dared to go up to the house, knowing that my parents were there.

Entered the study, which is actually my childhood room, and there he tried to undress me and sleep with me in my situation.

Luckily I was able to resist and at one point I bluntly told him that I was going to shout and that if he did not stop my father would enter the room and kill him.

He stayed to sleep.

When I say sleep I mean only he is asleep.

When I woke up after a few hours I find that he opened my palm and said to me the following charming sentence: "This is the minimum after you vomited my coat."

It was 6 in the morning, and I told him he had to leave the apartment.

A few days later I called him and said I must understand what happened.

At that time I did not know that Alon Kastiel Hans existed.

At that time I actually see a man trying to seize an opportunity, and I'm actually to blame for what happened to me.

I may have drunk too much and may have broadcast something that is out of place.

When I spoke to him he said "not bad, maybe the evening ended the way it did, but overall it was a great evening".

I want to explain what a great evening it is.

From that evening I go to psychotherapy, start taking psychiatric medication, stop going out, smoke, drink.

It takes me a few months to realize I was sexually assaulted.

People like Alon do not walk around with warning lights.

I blamed myself, not him

Luckily, I shared with the psychologist and my close friends.

Unfortunately, when I told my close friends, in their head we are in 2015, not yet in the Mi Tu era.

We are still in the age of blaming the victim, not in the age of shame going sideways.

So what went through their minds was that it was a tough, humiliating evening, that somewhere it happens to a person who is a "clubber".

I blamed myself, not him.

I said to myself 'you spend too much, you smoke, you drink'.

Absolute guilt.

It took me a long time, after a lot of work with the psychologist, to realize that I was not guilty.

Luckily for me, Sharon Sporer, a journalist from the "Hottest Place in Hell" website, did an article in 2016 that actually speaks on behalf of club owners who say they have seen their business partner's behaviors sexually harass girls.

And I called Sharon and told her it was just the tip of the fork, this is a rapist.

Other girls and I told her the story and then the article went out to the media.

From there the police began an investigation.

I decided to file a complaint with the police, and I want to compliment the police and their conduct, which was respectful.

The prosecution decided to file an indictment, but it is important for me to emphasize - we were 27 girls and in the indictment we remained 4. For a year the prosecution told us that there was progress on the way to trial, told us to be strong enough and with confidence in the trial.

Then one day, after a year, I got a call from the prosecution to get to the offices because they decided to reach a plea agreement.

That is, they decided not to go to court.

And the whole plea agreement is that he will plead guilty, but the punishment will become much less significant because the prosecution, among other things, demanded 8 years that became 4 and a half.

Alon Kastiel during one of the hearings (Photo: Meged Guzni)

One of the most difficult problems is that while a criminal proceeding is being conducted against Alon Kastiel, at the same time I and other girls are initiating civil proceedings with him.

I did not know that during the civil proceedings, his lawyer approached me through the lawyer who represented me, and suggested that in exchange for the 600,000 shekels he would transfer to me, I would not meet with the social worker and tell her in the criminal proceedings what I had been through.

I will write the story in the letter and tell a questionnaire that took responsibility for his actions.

I understand that it is okay, that there is a person who has money and can buy his freedom through it.

I could not take the money and go on with my life.

It was clear to me that I was going to continue with the criminal proceedings, and that I would meet with a social worker and tell exactly what I went through because of him.

And he will receive the maximum punishment.

My initial reaction today to the decision on his early release was again: that money can buy freedom.

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• Sexual assault