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Three Caregivers Charged with Torturing 17 Children in Ariel Daycare
State prosecutors filed an indictment on Sunday at the Central District Court in Lod against three staff members of the Luchik daycare in Ariel, charging them with over 400 counts of aggravated abuse and assault against 17 infants and toddlers aged six months to three years. The defendants are daycare director Natalia Kisilevsky, 37, and caregivers Daryna Khalupa, 37, and Anna Pagelsky, 40. Prosecutors are seeking to hold the three women in custody until the end of legal proceedings.
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What happened
- 01Three staff members of the Luchik daycare in Ariel face over 400 charges of aggravated abuse and assault against 17 infants and toddlers.
- 02The defendants are daycare director Natalia Kisilevsky, 37, and caregivers Daryna Khalupa, 37, and Anna Pagelsky, 40.
- 03The State Prosecutor's Central District Office filed the indictment on Sunday and requested the defendants be detained until the end of legal proceedings.
- 04Alleged abuse methods included blocking children's airways, shaking them, force-feeding, and pinning their arms to restrain them.
- 05The indictment also details psychological abuse, including locking children in dark rooms and forcing them to witness violence against others.
- 06Parents confronted the defendants in court with shouts and tears, while police described the evidence in the case as unprecedented.
- 07Rotem, a mother of one of the toddlers, expressed heartbreak over her son's trauma and noted that police have not yet shown parents the video evidence.
According to the indictment, the defendants subjected the children to severe physical and psychological violence. The alleged abuse included choking techniques where children's heads were held and their airways blocked with hands, paper, or cloth, as well as shaking, force-feeding, and pinning children's arms to restrain them. The prosecution also alleges that the caregivers locked children in dark rooms as punishment and forced them to witness violence against other children.
Parents of the children confronted the defendants in court, reacting with anger, tears, and shouts. Rotem, the mother of one of the toddlers, expressed her heartbreak and shock, noting that she now understands why her son used to scream at night. She urged other parents to trust their children's instincts, while noting that police have not yet shown the parents the video evidence of the alleged abuse.
Summarized by baba from the reports of 4 newsrooms. Updated
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Three Caregivers Charged with Torturing 17 Children in Ariel Daycare
