Harem leader charged with enslavement and rape

A 60-year-old Israeli man who kept a harem of at least 21 women who bore him 49 children has been charged with enslavement, rape, incest and other sexual offences.

Goel Ratzon was arrested last month but wasn’t charged formally until today.

Ratzon, who remains behind bars, denies wrongdoing.

The 25-page indictment accuses him of setting himself up as a “godlike” figure who preyed on troubled women while treating them like “chattel”.

It said he created an “image of an omnipotent one who was blessed with supernatural powers and the ability to heal, destroy and cast curses”.

Police were aware of Ratzon for years, but say they couldn’t make any allegations stick until three of his women brought complaints to welfare authorities.