A serious case of suspected sexual assaults and physical violence at a facility for people on the autism spectrum in central Israel was reported Wednesday on Kan Reshet Bet’s "BaChatzi HaYom." According to the suspicion, one resident assaulted other residents, including some with very low functioning who are nonverbal. The mother of a 27-year-old resident, an autistic man with moderate functioning who is nonverbal, described how the alarm first rose months ago after she found bruises and a torn undergarment during his bath.
She said the facility manager initially dismissed it as an episode of unrest caused by another resident. The extent of the alleged abuse emerged only after her son began communicating through typing. He reportedly wrote increasingly specific messages about assaults on him and on other residents, naming the suspected attacker, saying he was afraid to sleep at night, and describing the resident entering his room and hurting him. She said he also used explicit terms including rape and wrote, "lay on me" and "it hurt me."
After the findings, a complaint was filed with police, and the attacked resident was removed from the facility by his parents, while the suspect remained there. The mother criticized the institution and welfare authorities, saying, "I am simply collapsing under the burden and I am horrified by the ability to just silence the event, do nothing, not care, not try to help. There is no response." She said that after she reported the incidents, the typing therapist at the facility was removed and promised replacement support never arrived.
Police said a criminal investigation was opened after the complaint, but a special initial inquiry by the Welfare Ministry is required and has not yet been carried out. The facility said it places residents' safety first and acted immediately after receiving the report, notifying welfare authorities and then police, while working in full coordination and keeping families informed. The Welfare Ministry said it treats residents' safety as a supreme value, filed the police complaint after receiving the information, contacted the mother the same day, and launched a protection plan including personal supervision of the suspect resident and additional safeguards until the case is clarified.
