The Israel National Council for the Child appealed the decision by the Petah Tikva Magistrates Court, calling it an "lenient sentence that doesn't come close to the level of an appropriate sentence and doesn't reflect the severity of the harm nor its circumstances."
The Israel National Council for the Child is helping the child and her family in the legal process as part of services provided by the Child Victim Assistance Center.
"There's no need to waste words considering the severity of the crimes and their consequences on the victim of the crime, the damages caused to her and on the long rehabilitation process that is still expected for them, and their representatives justly filed suit to sentence the accused with imprisonment behind bars. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the accused received a lenient sentence that doesn't reflect the severity of the crime and the damage caused," said the council in a letter to the prosecution.
"We see the prosecution as holding a important and necessary position in bringing an unequivocal message concerning the severity of sex crimes against minors and the required sentence in such instances," added the council.
The Israel National Council for the Child called on the prosecution to appeal the sentence "in order to allow the court in higher proceedings to send a message in a loud, sharp and clear voice concerning the severity of sexual crimes against minors and the necessary and uncompromising sentence that should be carried out against those who commit these crimes, certainly when speaking about the taking advantage of a relationship of authority of an educator to his student."
Attorney Liron Eshel, the director of the Child Victim Assistance Center, called the sentence an "unfortunate and outrageous punishment!"
"What message is conveyed to the victim? To children in general? What message is conveyed to the offenders?" added Eshel. "We need to stop being shocked and start taking action to change the perception of the legal system that must impose significant and uncompromising punishment. The court must look children in the eye and guarantee them, and us as a society, justice."
"We are frustrated, disappointed and resentful at such a delusional decision," said the mother of the girl to Channel 12. "A person who attacks an eight-year-old girl, sexually assaults her, receives a laughable punishment, nine months of community service and monetary compensation, which is also relatively poor compared to what happened."
The mother explained that her daughter doesn't want to go back to school or even hear about school.
"He is a revered figure in the school," said the mother about Gross to Channel 12. "It has reached a point where he has captured the hearts of all the residents and population here. Even when it became known, they simply did not believe."
The crime was uncovered last year after the girl told her friends that the teacher had shown her "where children come from." One of her friends told her mother and eventually the full story was uncovered.
For a period of three weeks, Gross would come to the girl's classroom, ask to remove her from the class, bring her to an empty classroom and demand that she touch him and unclothe herself and warn her not to say anything.
The girl was not the only victim of Gross, according to Channel 12. Gross also reportedly committed indecent acts against a female student of his on a bus.