Ben Gurion International Airport
Ben Gurion International AirportFlash 90

A convicted sex offender who fled Israel to avoid his jail sentence landed in Ben Gurion Airport Friday morning, after being expelled from Thailand.

The 43-year old convict fled after a court convicted him sexual abuse of a minor and sentenced him to seven years in prison.

The man was arrested by authorities in Thailand and deported, with Israeli officers escorting him on the return trip.

A resident of southern Israel, the convicted sex offender was convicted in a Beer Sheva court of committing sexual acts on his niece, a minor, for at least five years. The man’s name has been barred from publication to protect his victim’s identity.

In February the man was sentenced to seven years in prison, but was granted a stay of two months, allowing him to delay the beginning of his sentence until April 18th.

Soon thereafter, however, the man’s family notified authorities that he had disappeared. A police investigation revealed that the man had fled the country, apparently using a fake passport.

Israeli police, working with Interpol, discovered in late May that the convict was located in Thailand, but was planning to leave the country, possibly for Egypt.

Just before the man boarded a plane he was arrested and escorted by Israeli authorities to a flight bound for Israel.