Overview
- Assistant U.S. Attorney Madison Smyser told jurors the brothers used a recurring 'playbook' from 2008 to 2021 that included drugging victims, applying brute force, and targeting some minors, with texts, photos, and video cited as corroboration.
- Defense lawyers argued the encounters were consensual within party culture, said accusers seek financial gain, and noted what they called a lack of medical records or contemporaneous reports supporting involuntary drugging.
- More than 20 women could testify under pseudonyms, with at least eight accusers expected; prosecutors said the first witness met two brothers at a 2012 NBA Finals watch party and was raped after losing consciousness.
- A superseding indictment added a count alleging sexual abuse by physical incapacitation on a Bahamian-flagged cruise ship in 2012, and Reuters reports Tal faces nine counts while Oren and Alon face eight each.
- The brothers have pleaded not guilty and remain detained at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, with the monthlong federal trial underway and potential sentences ranging from 15 years to life if convicted.