Indictment against daycare director and two caregivers in Ariel: over 400 abuse incidents involving 17 toddlers

In depth

The State Attorney's Office filed an indictment with the Central District Court in Lod against the director of the "Lutzik" daycare center in Ariel, Natalia Kasilevsky, and two caregivers, Darina Khalupa and Anna Paglevsky. According to the indictment, the defendants abused 17 babies and toddlers aged six months to three in a series of more than 400 incidents of assault and abuse. The prosecution asked that they be held in custody until the end of proceedings.

According to the indictment, the defendants would choke the toddlers until they lost their senses, tie them to chairs, and lock them in a dark room. The toddlers were force-fed, and according to the details in the indictment, they were forced to watch their friends being harmed. The daycare staff continued their actions even when the children choked, turned red and struggled to breathe.

The families of the toddlers were exposed to descriptions from the indictment in court in Lod, and the indictment states that some of the toddlers lost consciousness. One parent described the effect of the harm on his son, and the mother explained that only now does she understand why the child used to wake up screaming at night. The defendants denied the charges at the opening of the hearing, and the attorney for one of them resigned following the uproar in court.