Oren Alexander rose from his seat before a Manhattan judge on Tuesday and apologized for not having previously addressed his accusers directly.
asserted
Alexander → rise → accusers
He then defiantly denied ever raping or drugging any of them.
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He → deny → them
Behind him, several victims shook their heads in disbelief.
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victims → shake → disbelief
Some audibly scoffed.
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Some → scoff → ?
His brothers, Tal, then Alon, rose to make the same case, each denying his crimes and begging a Manhattan judge for mercy on Tuesday as they faced life in prison.
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they → rise → prison
It was the first time since their arrests nearly two years earlier that the brothers had addressed the allegations against them at length in court.
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brothers → address → court
Their pleas came as Judge Valerie Caproni revealed that Tal and Alon had both been assaulted behind bars, while Oren had been disciplined for having a cellphone.
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Oren → come → cellphone
Dressed in beige prison scrubs over long-sleeved white shirts, a far cry from the tailored suits they wore while brokering multimillion-dollar deals, they acknowledged years of partying, casual sex and degrading behavior toward women but maintained they were reformed men who deserved a second chance at life.
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who → dress → life
They portrayed themselves as devoted husbands and fathers who had traded their hedonistic lifestyles for the mundane, everyday routines of family life.
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who → portray → life
Tal Alexander, 40, and twins Oren and Alon, 39, were convicted of sex trafficking crimes
The siblings teared up as the judge handed them each 30 year sentences in federal prison
Both Tal and Alon broke down in tears as they spoke of their children growing up without them.
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children → convict → them
But the men they described bore little resemblance to the ones portrayed by 12 women whose victim impact statements had been heard earlier that day.
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statements → describe → women
In harrowing detail, the women described lives upended by the brothers' sexual violence, recounting years of nightmares, shattered relationships, self-harm, self-loathing and an enduring struggle to feel safe in their own bodies.
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women → describe → bodies
Judge Caproni likened the brothers to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
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Caproni → liken → Jekyll
To their families, they were loving husbands, devoted fathers and considerate neighbors.
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they → love → families
To the women they had abused, they were sexual predators who had drugged, raped and humiliated them.
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who → abuse → them
Judge Caproni was particularly scathing about their continued denials.
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Caproni → continue → denials
'You did not have to stand up and say you've never raped anyone,' she told them.
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she → have → them
'That's a lie and you know it.'
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you → know → it
The judge said their refusal to acknowledge what they had done demonstrated a profound lack of remorse and undermined their claims of rehabilitation.
uncertain
they → say → rehabilitation
She also questioned how they could begin to rehabilitate themselves while continuing to deny their crimes.
uncertain
they → question → crimes
Their conduct, she said, had been monstrous, shameful and degenerate.
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she → say → ?
She told them she hoped they were deeply ashamed of themselves.
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they → tell → themselves
Victims in the gallery wept as Judge Caproni spoke.
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Caproni → weep → gallery
But Judge Caproni rejected prosecutors’ demands for life sentences, calling them ‘draconian’ and saying she did not believe any of the three men were beyond redemption.
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any → reject → redemption
It was the first time since their arrests nearly two years earlier that the brothers had addressed the allegations against them at length in court.
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brothers → address → court
Alon's wife, Shani Zigron, did not attend sentencing.
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wife → attend → sentencing
She is pictured last month in Miami
Instead, she sentenced each to 30 years behind bars and 10 years of supervised release.
The twins, Oren and Alon, are both 39, while Tal is 40.
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Tal → picture → release
All three will be in their sixties by the time they leave prison.
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they → leave → prison
The brothers had entered the courtroom that morning with faint smiles, squared shoulders and the same air of confidence they had displayed throughout their six-week trial earlier this year.
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they → enter → trial
They left hollow-eyed and dejected, quietly acknowledging the few supporters who had gathered to witness their fate.
Conspicuously absent were their parents, Orly and Shlomi Alexander, and the wives of Oren and Alon, Kamila Hansen and Shani Zigron.
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parents → leave → Oren
Only their eldest brother, Niv, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing, was present.
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who → accuse → wrongdoing
The brothers had asked their parents to stay away to spare them further pain, Tal's attorney told the court.
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attorney → ask → court
Alon similarly revealed that he had specifically told his wife, Shani, not to attend.
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he → reveal → wife
Their parents and Alon’s wife had attended the trial almost daily.
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parents → attend → trial
A photo released by the court shows the three brothers partying on a boat with one alleged victim redacted
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brothers → release → victim
Maria Suska was one of 12 victims who read an impact statement in court on Tuesday
On Tuesday, the family missed the victim impact statements entirely.
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family → read → statements
Their sentencing came more than seven months after a Manhattan jury convicted all three brothers of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and a series of other federal offenses, including sex trafficking, aggravated sexual abuse and crimes involving minors.
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jury → come → minors
The six-week trial heard from 11 women who described being lured into the brothers' wealthy social circles, sometimes with promises of luxury travel and exclusive parties, before being drugged and sexually assaulted.
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who → hear → travel
The allegations spanned more than a decade and exposed how the siblings, two of them among the most successful real estate brokers in the country, used their wealth, influence and connections in New York and Miami to prey on women.
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siblings → span → women
Tuesday’s hearing began with 11 women addressing the court in person, while a prosecutor read a statement on behalf of a twelfth.
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prosecutor → begin → twelfth
…and 37 more, not listed.
The Aporia
