JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israeli polygamist and cult leader convicted on charges including rape, sodomy, indecent assault, and sexual abuse within the family was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Goel Ratzon, 64, was sentenced Tuesday in Tel Aviv District Court. The sentencing was delayed by several hours when Ratzon failed to arrive for his court appearance, after what the Israel Prisons Service called a glitch in its computer system which failed to alert them to transport Ratzon from his prison cell in Beersheba to the court.

Ratzon was arrested and indicted nearly five years ago, after a complaint filed by one of his of 21 ‘wives,’ with whom he fathered 38 children. He never officially married any of the women that he called his wives.

Ratzon made the women believe he was the savior of the world and that he had supernatural abilities. He also alienated the women from their families and only allowed them to speak in public areas of their home. He sexually abused his wives as well as his children.