Boca Raton-area ‘monster’ convicted of 15-hour rape and torture of therapist

The victim of a suburban Boca Raton rapist will have to live for the rest of her life with the pain and terror he inflicted on her during the 15 hours he held her captive in his family’s home, she told a judge on Monday, June 10.

And now he will do just that.

Judge Daliah Weiss sentenced Tzvi Allswang, who raped, beat and tortured his therapist all night long in July 2022 after she came to his home for a session, to life in prison after hearing from the victim, her fiancée and family, how their lives had been irreparably derailed by the attack he carefully planned.

More: Deputies did nothing as the woman was raped for hours near Boca. When she screamed, they discussed why

The therapist, who was drawn to a career where she could help others, said she now fears being left alone. While the physical scars from Allswang’s relentless attack eventually faded, the emotional devastation of the night is now a part of her.

“I struggle with the feeling of being trapped behind invisible walls and helpless,” she said, “while the world keeps turning around me.”

“Since that night, every day has been a struggle,” her fiancée said.

The deputies did nothing for six hours

She and the therapist’s parents called 22-year-old Allswang a “monster” and described the horror they all still experience daily as they spent hours trying in vain to find her and then, when they did, persuaded sheriff’s deputies to rescue her.

A Palm Beach Post investigation found that for six hours during her night of terror, Palm Beach County sheriff’s officials ignored signs that she was in danger and instead left her to be tortured, raped and terrorized.

They failed to conduct routine checks that could have revealed Allswang’s previous conviction for sexual assault. They ignored relevant facts provided by people who knew the woman. They overlooked repeated indications that the therapist was in the house against her will.

More: When can police enter a home without a warrant? Did officers need a warrant for a rape near Boca?

Her ordeal only ended when police officers heard her screams and eventually broke into the house. There they found him with a knife to her throat. He only dropped the knife when a police officer shot him and the bullet struck his forehead. He was hospitalized for four days before being taken to the Palm Beach County Jail. He remains in jail without bail to this day.

Mother of the victim: “Unfortunately he did not die on the spot”

In March, he pleaded guilty to kidnapping, attempted murder and multiple counts of sexual abuse, leaving the sentence to the judge’s discretion.

On Monday, the therapist’s mother described how Allswang repeatedly told her daughter that he would kill her and then let the police shoot him.

“In the end, the police shot him,” the therapist’s mother stated, turning to Allswang. “Unfortunately, he didn’t die immediately.”

Prosecutor Alexa Ruggiero pointed to the failure of people who could have protected the victim from Allswang, who was 20 years old when he carried out his plan to kidnap and kill his therapist.

She pointed to his family, who had ignored signs that he was dangerous, and to the court that had given him probation after his first rape conviction two years earlier. She pointed to the therapist’s employer, who had sent her to the house alone and unprepared, despite knowing that the client had already committed sexual violence. She pointed to Palm Beach County Sheriff’s officers, who found the therapist’s car outside the Allswangs’ home and drove away.

When the therapist heard the officers outside, Ruggiero told the judge, “for a brief moment she thought she would be free.”

Strengthened and encouraged by all these people, Ruggiero reiterated, Allswang “enjoyed” every moment of the pain and humiliation he inflicted on the therapist.

It was time, Ruggiero told Weiss, to hold Allswang accountable.

Weiss cited what she called mitigating circumstances: Allswang’s youth, the defense’s findings that Allswang had cysts on his frontal lobes that hampered his impulse control, and the death of his mother when he was a child.

While Allswang did not address the court or the victim, attorney Jacob Cohen said he offered a “profuse apology” to the victim and her family.

“There are circumstances,” Weiss said before sentencing Allswang, “in which an apology is simply not enough.”

Antigone Barton is an investigative reporter for The Palm Beach Post. Reach her at [email protected].

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, Victim Services and the Rape Crisis Center of Palm Beach County can help. You can reach the helpline at 561-833-7273 or toll-free at 866-891-7273.

This article originally appeared in the Palm Beach Post: ‘Monster’ convicted of raping and torturing his therapist for 15 hours