Precedent-setting ruling: Dance teacher to pay over 1.2 million shekels in compensation to victim

The court ruled that Kirill Chaikin-Shachaf, known by the trade name "Kirill Art", a dance teacher convicted of raping his student, Yuval Raz, when she was a teenager, will pay her compensation in the amount of 705,321 shekels, plus attorney fees and court costs. In the ruling, her total damages were estimated at 1,268,128 shekels, before deducting criminal compensation, National Insurance Institute benefits, and an additional amount frozen until the National Insurance Institute decides on her future rights.

Art previously pleaded guilty as part of a plea bargain and was convicted of two cases of rape of the young woman who was then a minor under the age of 16, two cases of indecent acts, prohibited sexual intercourse by consent, and sodomy. In another charge, he was convicted of an indecent act against another student. The District Court in Haifa sentenced him to seven and a half years in prison and 100,000 shekels in compensation. Art developed a personal relationship with the victim, nurtured her as a lead dancer, and invited her to his apartment, apparently for dance lessons, where he committed the offenses.

In the civil proceeding, where she was represented by attorney Daniel Bar-Goldman, Judge Moti Cohen awarded 700,000 shekels for pain and suffering, about 452,000 shekels for loss of future earning capacity, and about 116,000 shekels for pension losses, expenses, and third-party assistance. The judge determined that the young woman's life was "derailed," and that dance, which had previously served as a source of salvation for her, became, following Art's actions, "a poison injected by the defendant directly into her young soul."

From the total amount, the 100,000 shekels awarded in the criminal proceeding and National Insurance Institute benefits were deducted. Another 400,000 shekels were frozen until a final determination by the National Insurance Institute, so at this stage, Art was ordered to pay 705,321 shekels. In the future, the victim may also receive part of the frozen amount.

The court rejected the lawsuit against the owner of the "Tzaad Ve-Hetzi" studio where he taught. It was determined that the acts were carried out in secret, in Art's apartment and outside of operating hours, and that it was not proven that the studio owner knew about them or could have foreseen them.

However, the judge dedicated part of the ruling to the regulatory loophole in the industry. According to him, private dance studios are not necessarily included in the definition of a "sports body," and therefore the regulations requiring training and tools for preventing sexual harassment do not apply to them. He noted that sports sectors are particularly prone to sexual abuse due to the focus on the body, touch, and dependency relationships between coaches and minors, and called on the legislator to consider supervising dance studios and making their operation conditional on training and qualifications for teachers.

"He told me he would commit suicide if this came out, and there was no option for me to do something that would hurt my god," Raz explained to the court during the sentencing arguments. "After a while, I stopped believing in god and was a little afraid of Kirill, I was afraid that people would be angry with me and blame me if I was brushing my hair every day at noon, putting on clothes, and going to be raped." She added, "The only reason I didn't share was to protect my parents from the heartbreak that would be caused to them the moment they knew what happened to their daughter."