"I just wanted to help them."
Eliezer Dalal (photo: official website, screenshot, network 13)
Today (Thursday) the attorney's office demanded from the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court to sentence Eliezer Dalal, the owner of the "HaSovel" pizzeria in Tel Aviv and the star of the series "The Friends of Naor" to four years in prison.
Dalal was convicted in July of indecent acts against three women, two of them minors.
"A 70-year-old man in front of a 17-year-old girl, he is using manipulation that no one will believe," claimed the attorney's office representative at today's hearing.
"These are unimaginable age gaps. There is no internalization on the part of the accused, there is no taking responsibility. There is a dangerous sex offender."
According to her, Dalal behaved disdainfully in front of the women's testimonies and sneered at them.
Dalal himself said in the discussion: "If someone really feels that I hurt them, I'm very sorry. I just wanted to help them, that's all."
The attorney also claimed that Dalal took advantage of the fact that he is well-known and famous and approached the young women, brought them into his business and closed the door.
"It was a planned act, when no one else was around, he controlled the situation," she claimed.
"They asked him to stop and he went back to touching them again and again, taking advantage of the state of stagnation they were in."
On the other hand, Dalal's defense attorney demanded that he be sentenced to community service only, but agreed to the prosecution's demand for compensation for the complainants.
He claimed that Dalal has no criminal record, and that none of the complainants forced their way into the place.
In addition, he said that the procedure affected him and his ability to earn a living significantly.
The prosecution is demanding 4 years in prison.
The Magistrate's Court in Tel Aviv, today (Photo: Flash 90, Nati Shochat)
The indictment against Dalal was filed in 2019 by the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office, in which it is alleged that he approached the complainants, started talking to them, and offered them to enter his pizzeria.
According to the indictment, the complainants all passed by the pizzeria - where Dalal made comments to them about their self-confidence in order to attract Lavan's attention - and subsequently entered the place with him.
"During the meeting, Dalal began to touch the complainant in the way of a massage," the indictment reads.
"After they expressed opposition to his actions and reflected to him that the touch was unpleasant for them, he moved away and cut off contact, but then returned and touched them over their clothes, on their chests, stomachs and buttocks several times and rubbed them with his penis."
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