 Sela was arrested in Tel Aviv on December 14, 1999, by police responding to reports of an attack on a young woman and an eight-year-old girl.Police noted that Sela's appearance matched descriptions of the Tel Aviv rapist, and during an investigation of his criminal record, it was noted that the Tel Aviv rapes had stopped while he was in prison.Detectives then took a DNA sample, which matched samples given by nine of the victims.