At this time, a re-hearing was held in the release committee at Hermon Prison at the request of sex offender Alon Kastiel for early release. Castiel was convicted of sexually assaulting four women.
Earlier this month, the Nazareth District Court accepted the prosecution's appeal of the release committee's decision, ruling that it was null and void, and returned the decision to a retrial.
The judges said: "The release committee could not be satisfied with the position of one victim, and they do not know at all about the advance of the hearing. This is not a technical matter, but a substantive one.
Alon Kastiel, Photo: Yossi Zeliger
In January 2018, the Tel Aviv District Court sentenced Castiel to four years and nine months in prison as part of a plea deal, for attempted rape, indecent assault, indecent assault and sexual harassment.
After three years in prison the committee discussed his application, after claiming that he had undergone the required treatment in prison and was given full responsibility for his actions.
The prosecutors then thought that the plea agreement was appropriate.
Referring to reducing the number of complainants from 15 to four, they said at the time that the prosecution would file an indictment only when there was a reasonable chance of conviction.
In early December 2016, Castiel was charged with committing serious sexual acts, and was initially charged with two counts of rape.
Castiel's defense attorneys at the time, attorneys Meital Danino and Roi Belcher, then claimed that there was a statute of limitations regarding the same case, since ten years had passed since the act attributed to him.
One of the complainants asked to express her position before the committee, and Castiel's defense attorney, Adv. Rotem Tobol, expressed her consent. Tobol responded: "The decision is proper and meets all the conditions of the law."
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