The court reached its decision after the prosecution appealed the Board’s late May granting of an early release after around four years of prison.
The Nazareth District Court on Tuesday canceled the decision by the parole board to grant convicted sexual offender Alon Kastiel an early release from prison.
Kastiel was initially indicted for even more severe crimes but was eventually convicted for sexual assault offenses.
According to the judges, the board’s failure to allow all of Kastiel’s victims to testify before it undermined the early release decision.
“This is not a technical issue, but a substantive one,” said the court, criticizing the board for failing to postpone its hearing on the matter so as to hear all of the victims.
Patrol Board’s history
The court reached its decision after the prosecution appealed the board’s late May granting of an early release after around four years of prison, which would have been nine months early.
Kastiel had been convicted of sexual offenses against four women, but the board only spoke to one.
The decision on Kastiel’s release passed with a majority vote, including Judges Erica Priel, Tina Gantus and Oren Harzman, with Tal Gidoni, a social worker, voting against.
Gidoni had argued that the board should wait until all the women Kastiel assaulted had voiced their position regarding an early release.
Priel said that the board did not ignore Kastiel’s victims and was aware of their pain and suffering, but that his prior clean record, rehabilitation efforts and the social principle of reintegration into society meant that the victims’ positions would not be decisive anyway.
Ultimately, the court decided that the board could not decide without giving all of the victims a chance to be heard.
The board may still try to grant an early release after hearing the remaining victims.