Jerusalem caretaker suspected of abusing two toddlers, remanded for five days

A 49-year-old caretaker from Jerusalem’s Har Homa neighborhood was arrested on suspicion of abusing two toddlers under her supervision. After a hearing at the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Thursday morning, judges extended her detention by five days, until next Monday.

Police from the Oz Station in the Jerusalem District opened the investigation after complaints alleged abuse by the caretaker. According to the suspicion, she shouted and cursed at the toddlers and, at times, ignored their crying and needs while they were in her care.

The report also noted a separate case from about two months ago, when the Jerusalem District Court sentenced caretaker Shita Amashu to 6.5 years in prison and kindergarten teacher Uria Bigush to two years and three months in the so-called “Garden of Horrors” case in Kiryat Gat. Both were convicted of multiple counts of assaulting a minor or helpless person and causing actual bodily harm to a minor or helpless person.

Amashu was also convicted of seven abuse offenses and ordered to pay 160,000 shekels in compensation to the children’s parents. Bigush was also ordered to pay 40,000 shekels.