Jerusalem – Four members of the cult led by Elior Chen were convicted on Wednesday by the Jerusalem District Court of a line of serious offenses for their involvement in the children’s abuse affair. One of the children who was abused is still in hospital in a vegetative state.
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Judge Nava Ben-Or noted in her ruling, “I have full confidence in the testimony of the children’s investigator Micha Haran and his professional opinion. I watched the investigation tapes and have no doubt the children told the truth.”
The indictments against the four included 22 counts which pertained to 40 abuse incidents.
David Kugman, 24, was accused of shaking the children intensely while holding their hands and legs together with other members of the group. In some of the cases they would cuff the children’s hands and legs with plastic cuffs and ropes.
The indictment detailed an incident in February 2008 during which Kugman and another Chen follower pressed one of the children to an electric stove and removed him only after his skin started pealing off. He then poured alcohol and salt on the wound. The victim required skin transplant surgery as a result.
Burning fingers, sealing mouths
Avraham Maskalchi, 25, was charged with abusing children using a wooden hammer. In one of the cases, he burned the fingers of one child, tied him up with a rope, placed a yarmulke in his mouth and sealed it with scotch tape. Maskalchi and Kugman then put the boy inside a small suitcase and deprived him of food and water for a long time. They were charged with assaulting and abusing a minor.
The two were also accused of locking another boy inside a suitcase for three days, and force-feeding yet another child with feces.
According to the indictment, at one stage one of the children complained of the abuse and was beat up in response.
The two other suspects to be convicted on Wednesday are Roi Tzoref and Shimon Gabai.
Elior Chen’s wife, who neglected her eight children and left them to be abused, was sentenced to five years in prison last week.
“The actions carried out against the children included shaking, beating, binding, burning, force-feeding them feces, and more, reflect a loss of humanity on behalf of the perpetrators,” the judge ruled.
Chen’s own trial has not yet ended.
Could they really be Jewish? Nisht Tzu Gloiben!!!
Horrific!!
Sounds like a bunch of of proffesional siko’s. They should have yarmulkas stuffed in their mouths…
I am so sickened by this. How long did they get? However long it is, it won’t be enough. I hope other prisoners give them a taste of their own medicine. They are worse than the worst animal.
How come reb chaim gave a letter in his support?
I hope they get life in solitary confinement and never see the light of day or the dark of nite this is worse then the nazis y”sh how can something like this happen.and the mother knew abt this and kept quite 5yrs is a joke along with the fact that she can have her kids back.who ever the mothers lawyer is should come fight SLM case he’s good!!!
they should be sent to an american prison where the inmates know what to do with child abusers
I wish I can get my hands on these sick PEVERTED non humans hope they get what they deserve
disgusting they do this to poor children who can defend themselves
Oy, Gut in himmel! These poor kids!
These sick people need to be locked up in a mental institution for life as they are a danger to society.
Probably ex-cons like the so called rosh yeshiva who was caught shooting a so-called talmid of his.
Don’t want to believe that such an outrageous thing could happen….. what are they jewish nazis or worse?!?! They should not only be in prison but tortured the same way….. and eye for an eye….. Sickening.
As a matter of fact they are not ex cons or chosrei betshuva.One of those convicted came from a chushva family in Har Nof who went to main stream chassidishe yeshivos.Their premise was that the children were to be educated in a Nevardok environment consisting of minimalism and purity.They also thought that they had to take out the nitzoytzos of tumah from them and that was their way.If you would have met them on a street youd have thoght themnormal youngerleit.The sad part it is they got letters of chraracter from Rabbonim.What were thewy thinking?
worse then the nazis… the nazis shot to death. the didnt feel so much pain.. here the children went thru awful horfic pain.. pain …… how can an human being do this to another human being.. these guys dont have jewish souls my heart bleeds for these innocent children …..
Rav Chaim Kanievsky and several other Gedolim signed a letter of support for Elior Chen, insisting that he is a marbitz Torah and a good person, and that he must be innocent. They did not say who was responsible for putting these kids in hospital.
How can one be punished for such crimes against humanity? Is there even a punishment for this ?
Anyone who lays hands on young kids and teenagers should be sent to prison for life!!!!
this is terrible. how can people act like this. this is insane!!!
Does anyone know what is the origin of this cult? What were their influences? Who did they “learn by”
I hope the parents rot in jail, and the children are given the proper psychological help, and put into a home of loving, and caring people. This article is an embarassment, and is disgusting! Force feeding fetuses to children?! I am disgusted and infuriated. How can someone treat a child like the way these people did? Unfortunatelly, they will probably end up back with their scum parents when they get out of jail. How is that just and fair?! These children don’t deserve it!
my blood is boiling, i’m at a lose of words
Who are we to question the gedoilim? As the letter they signed said …”Rabbi Elior Chen’s business all his life is to spread Torah.…We are committed to demonstrate His righteousness”…
Remember our job is to follow the Gedoilim not question them.
the big question is did the gedolim support these acts or are they supporting the alleged based on a wrongful accussation
unfortunately today’s “gedolim” don’t bother to investigate an issue THOROUGHLY before signing or not signing a letter of support, forcing society to turn to other sources of justice
The gedoilim say he’s innocent, who are we to argue?
This week I attended a shiur from a prominent poisek and the issue was molestation. He brought numerous proofs from shas and shulchan aruch that an abuser needs to be locked up regardless of his phychological issues, mental competency, etc. If he/she is a muchzak menace to anyone and esp children, we have to lock him up using the secular court system. There’s no heter to try to “resolve it internally”, “portect the yeshivas name” etc. He went further to say than even if we are 100% positive that the revelation will close down a school of 1000 children, al pi halacha we have to go to secular courts to save the children. This rov is a “chassidishe” “haredi” “ultra-orthodox” rov who minces no words and says it as he sees it. B”H in our community he is respected and taken seriously. He has no patience for “gedolim letters”, if the halacha is clear we follow it regardless.
There is no truth to the above, I happen to know the details of this story and its all a bunch of lies.
the question is- is this another plot to frame frum, innocent, or were these acts committed- we sitting in america really can’t know…and we’ll never know…i hope and pray these atrocities did not really happen, and if they did, may Hashem bring them to justice.
how come that you queshtion the gedoilim that are lomdim talmidai chachumim yirai hashem whit a life of expirience seyate dishmaye on them you have a sofik..on mechalei shabos never lernd ain yiras hashem by begatz they do evrything to be matsdik reisha and marshia tzadik. open your EYES…………………
The only time Israel gives the death penalty is to Nazis.
Since this is so horrific,unbelievable and how can parents allow this on their children |I will not be surprised that this story is indeed way exaggerated. I just cannot believe that a mother would let them do this, and so many would just follow these instructions. Maila you have one or two deranged people but you have quite a few there are they all so cruel and not normal. something is fishy and |I truly hope so, I could not sleep tonight, I cannot believe these cruelties from our own yiddishe hent.