December 30, 2024

GUATEMALA: Jewish Cult Compound Raided For Child Trafficking, And Child Rape. Authorities Rescued 160 Children. Moms As Young As 12yo. Bodies Of Children Found Buried On The Property.

Group Was Kicked Out Of Canada, US, Mexico For Doing The Same. (emphasis mine)
DRM News published December 20, 2024: Guatemala Cracks Down on Lev Tahor: Evidence of Human Trafficking and Forced Marriages. Guatemalan authorities rescued 160 children and teenagers from the Lev Tahor Jewish community on December 20 amid allegations of abuse, including rape. The operation followed complaints from four minors who escaped the group in November. Prosecutor Dimas Jimenez cited evidence of human trafficking, forced marriages, and other abuses. Founded in 1988 in Israel, Lev Tahor practices fundamentalist Judaism and moved to Guatemala between 2014 and 2017. U.S. Homeland Security is aiding in the investigation to hold those responsible accountable.
Univision Noticias published December 24, 2024: Qué se sabe de la secta Lev Tahor: denuncias de abusos, aislamiento y rescate de niños en Guatemala. Más de 100 niños fueron rescatados de una granja perteneciente a la secta judía Lev Tahor, tras denuncias de abuso sexual y trata de personas. Te damos algunas claves para entender por qué esta secta ha sido tan polémica a su paso por el continente americano.
The Independent, UK
written by Stuti Mishra
Saturday December 21, 2024

Authorities in Guatemala rescued at least 160 children from a Jewish sect following allegations of abuse and human trafficking.

Police raided the premises of the sect called Lev Tahor in Oratorio city, 78km southeast of the capital Guatemala City, on Friday after receiving complaints of widespread abuse of children, including rape, human trafficking and forced marriage, prosecutors said.

They took at least 160 minors and 40 women into protective custody.

The operation in the Santa Rosa region involved around 480 police personnel, soldiers, prosecutors, and psychologists who also seized electronic devices and searched for evidence of child pornography.

Regional prosecutor Dimas Jiménez y Jiménez said they were considering charges of human trafficking, mistreatment of minors, and rape.

“We suspect these crimes were committed by a member of the community,” he said.

Nancy Lorena Paiz García, a prosecutor in the Office Against Human Trafficking, said that police found bodies suspected to be of minors buried on the premises.

“We have no information that the sect has used the local cemeteries,” she said, “but we must investigate these possible deaths of minors.”

The operation was set in motion by the escape from the Jewish sect of four non-Guatemalan children in November who alerted authorities to the abuses.

“Based on the statements of the complainants, the evidence obtained and the medical examinations, it was possible to establish that there are forms of human trafficking against these minors, like forced marriages, abuse, and related crimes,” Ms Garcia said.

Lev Tahor, “Pure Heart” in Hebrew, was founded in Israel in 1988 and practices a strict interpretation of Jewish law. It has drawn international scrutiny over the years for alleged sexual abuses, kidnapping, child marriage, and physical violence.

The sect shifted its base to Mexico and Guatemala between 2014 and 2017 after facing mounting legal pressure elsewhere.

In 2022, Mexican authorities rescued children from a Lev Tahor camp near the Guatemalan border and detained its members suspected of abusing minors.

The operation in Oratorio adds to the sect’s troubled history. Prosecutors allege that minors in the sect were subjected to forced marriages and systematic abuse, often under the guise of religious doctrine. The children are under government protection while investigations continue.

The Jewish Community of Guatemala distanced itself from Lev Tahor, saying the sect was foreign to its organisation. It expressed support for authorities and called on governments and diplomats to collaborate in protecting vulnerable individuals linked to Lev Tahor.

“The government and diplomatic corps of countries from whose nationalities make up members of Lev Tahor should join forces to protect those whose rights may be violated,” the organisation said in a statement.

Guatemalan authorities said they would continue their investigation into the sect’s activities and potential human rights violations.
BBC News, UK
written by Robert Plummer
Sunday December 22, 2024

Authorities in Guatemala have resisted efforts by members of a Jewish sect to recapture 160 children rescued from its premises.

The children were taken into care on Friday when police raided a farm used by the Lev Tahor movement, which is under investigation in several countries for serious sexual offences.

Interior Minister Francisco Jimenez said they were allegedly being abused by a member of the sect.

But on Sunday, sect members broke into a care centre where they were being held in an attempt to get them back, leading to scuffles with police.

The Lev Tahor sect is known for extremist practices and imposing a strict regime on its followers.

It advocates child marriage, inflicts harsh punishments even for minor transgressions and requires women and girls as young as three years old to completely cover up with robes.

The sect accuses the Guatemalan authorities of religious persecution.

The community settled in Mexico and Guatemala between 2014 and 2017. In 2022, members of the sect were arrested in a police operation in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, but they were later freed for lack of evidence.

The events began when police raided the sect's farm in Oratorio, south-east of Guatemala City, on Friday, taking the children into care.

Prosecutors said there were suspicions of "forced pregnancy, mistreatment of minors and rape".

But two days later, about 100 of the children's relatives - all members of the sect - gathered outside the centre where they were being held to call for their return.

Some sect members then forced open the gate and tried to abduct the children and adolescents sheltered there, the Attorney General's Office said.

But the children were intercepted by the authorities and put into a white minibus, local media reported.

With police help, the centre "managed to locate and protect everyone again", the Attorney General's Office added.

Officials had previously tried to check on the children's wellbeing, but were prevented from entering the farm by sect members.

Authorities estimate that the community is made up of about 50 families residing in Guatemala, the US, Canada and other countries.

The Jewish Community of Guatemala has issued a statement disowning the sect, describing it as foreign to its own organisation.

It expressed support for the Guatemalan authorities in carrying out necessary investigations "to protect the lives and integrity of minors and other vulnerable groups that may be at risk".

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 6:30 PM

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