The Tel Aviv District Court sentenced Prof. Aryeh Levin, a former senior doctor at Wolfson Medical Center, to six years in prison on Thursday for raping the mother of a patient and committing sexual offenses against two patients.
The sentence was less than half the 13 years sought by prosecutors, who said they would study the ruling and consider their next steps. The court also ordered Levin to pay NIS 750,000 in compensation to four women affected by the offenses for which he was convicted. He had deposited the money before sentencing.
Levin, 69, formerly headed Wolfson’s pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition unit. He was convicted in February after admitting to an amended indictment under a plea agreement that left his prison term for the judges to decide.
The conviction covers the rape of a patient’s mother, five indecent acts involving two patients, and a separate offense involving a fourth woman. In that case, Levin performed invasive examinations on her when she was a child without her or her mother’s informed consent. He was convicted of abusing his authority as a doctor for those examinations.
In 2013, Levin asked the mother of a boy he was treating to come to his Wolfson office to collect medical documents. After she entered, he locked the door and raped her, according to the facts he admitted.
Amended indictment details offenses from 2010 to 2021
Four of the indecent-act convictions concern a woman Levin treated over many years. The amended indictment describes incidents in 2017 and 2018 in which he touched her sexually during or around medical appointments, despite her efforts to move away. The fifth concerns a teenage patient he touched without her consent following an examination at Wolfson in 2021.
The offenses in the amended indictment span 2010 to 2021. Some took place at the hospital and others at Levin’s clinics.
Prosecutors argued that Levin’s standing as a specialist gave him access to women who depended on him for care. In a statement after the sentence, they said the complainants had seen him as “a savior” and argued that he exploited their trust at moments when they were especially vulnerable. They sought a prison term of at least 13 years.
Levin’s lawyer, Lior Epstein, argued for a substantially shorter sentence. He pointed to the difference between the original and amended indictments, Levin’s admission, the compensation, and the consequences the case had already had for his medical career. The plea agreement was reached late in the prosecution’s case, after the women had testified.
Court stresses gravity of sexual offenses by medical professionals
In explaining its sentence, the three-judge panel said sexual offenses by medical professionals carry particular gravity because patients must trust them at moments of vulnerability. The judges also considered the harm described in the women’s victim-impact reports, including damage to their ability to trust medical care.
The court weighed Levin’s admission, his age and lack of previous convictions, the changes to the original charges, and the compensation he had deposited. It imposed suspended prison terms in addition to the six years and credited him for 34 days previously spent in detention.
Under the plea agreement, Levin also told the Health Ministry he would no longer practice medicine and requested permanent cancellation of his medical license.
Rape crisis center chief criticizes Levin’s sentence, says it fails to reflect gravity of offenses
Orit Sulitzeanu, chief executive of the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, criticized the sentence. “The sentence handed down to Arieh Levin does not at all reflect the gravity of his appalling acts or his disgraceful exploitation of his role and status,” she said. She called on hospitals to “take every complaint against a doctor with the utmost seriousness and examine it thoroughly” so patients can feel safe.
The court informed Levin that he has 45 days to appeal.