"Have you ever seen something like that?": He Exposed Himself to a 10-Year-Old in an Elevator — and Won’t Serve Prison Time
Aliran Hasson entered after a 10-year-old girl into the elevator in the building where she lives, asked her age, and exposed his genitals to her. As a result, the minor suffers from panic attacks and avoids entering the building alone, to the point that her mother was forced to leave her job. The judge ruled that although there was no physical contact, it was an intrusive act in which the girl was "trapped," and sentenced him to only nine months of community service due to the absence of a criminal record and an expression of remorse.
A 10-year-old girl returned to the building where she lives in central Israel and entered the elevator, experiencing a traumatic event that changed her life, but the person who harmed her will not sit behind bars. The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court sentenced Aliran Hasson, who admitted and was convicted of an indecent act toward a minor, to nine months of imprisonment to be served only as community service work, along with payment of compensation in the amount of 12,000 shekels.
"Have you ever seen something like that?": the chilling encounter in the elevator
According to the facts of the amended indictment, in which Hasson admitted as part of a plea agreement, the incident occurred when the minor arrived at the building in the early afternoon together with her friend, and Hasson, who was standing outside, entered after them. That same evening, near 18:47, the girl returned to the building after escorting her friend home. Hasson, who was again outside the building, noticed her and entered after her into the elevator.
When the doors closed and the two were left alone, Hasson approached the girl and asked her name, her age, and her place of study. Immediately after she told him that she was 10 years old, he lowered his pants and underwear, exposed his genitals to her, chuckled, and asked her: "Have you ever seen something like that?" When the elevator stopped on the floor where she lived, the girl fled outside and ran home in panic. In sentencing, it was explicitly noted that the act was carried out for the purpose of sexual stimulation, satisfaction, or humiliation.
The girl’s mother testified that the harm is deeply etched in her daughter’s memory even three years after the incident. For about a year afterward, the minor suffered from episodes of shortness of breath that led to visits to the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with panic attacks.
Following the incident, the girl began to suffer from fears that severely affected her functioning, and she developed an increased dependence on her mother, who was forced to leave her job in order to stay close to her. Since the incident, the minor avoids entering the elevator or the building without supervision, and when her mother is not there, she waits for her in the yard. In addition, she rarely sleeps at friends’ homes and refuses to go on annual outings. The author of the pre-sentence report determined that Hasson’s actions completely undermined the girl’s sense of protection and basic security, and that the extent of the harm may not yet have been fully revealed.
At the sentencing arguments stage, the prosecution requested that Hasson be sentenced to 23 months of actual imprisonment and compensation of 15,000 shekels, emphasizing that he took advantage of the girl’s helplessness inside a closed elevator and that he did not integrate into treatment on a continuous basis. In contrast, the defense asked to be satisfied with conditional sentencing or community service work, arguing that this was a "use of an opportunity" that lasted only a few seconds and without any physical contact, and noting that the absence from treatment resulted from economic constraints and fear of losing employment.
The judge ruled that although it was not a pre-planned pursuit as the prosecution claimed, it was also not a completely spontaneous incident. She firmly rejected the defense’s attempt to downplay the incident and clarified that despite the absence of physical contact, the act falls within the high end of offenses of this type. The judge described the exposure of the genitals as an intrusive and harmful act, particularly when it is carried out in a closed elevator where the minor was "trapped" and held captive by his actions, in a place that is supposed to be her protected fortress.
Despite these findings, which placed the sentencing range between seven and 22 months of imprisonment, the judge decided to consider in mitigation the fact that this was Hasson’s first and only entanglement in criminal matters. In light of his early admission, his taking responsibility, and his expression of shame and remorse for his actions, the court confined itself to the lower end of the range and, as stated, sentenced him to only nine months of community service work, along with the financial compensation.
