(Operation backed by US Department of Homeland Security)
40 women also removed from cult’s farm; suspected bones of child found; prosecutors say group raided over suspicions of ‘forced pregnancy, mistreatment of minors and rape’
This handout picture released by the Guatemalan Attorney General of the Nation's Office (PGN) shows members of the PGN taking part in a child rescue operation at a Lev Tahor farm in the municipality of Oratorio, Guatemala, on December 20, 2024 (Handout / Guatemalan Attorney General of the Nation's Office / AFP)
Guatemalan authorities said they rescued 160 minors and 40 women on Friday from a farm used by the extremist ultra-Orthodox Lev Tahor sect amid an investigation into alleged child sex abuse.
Guatemala’s Attorney General’s Office said in a statement on the social platform X that suspected bones of one child were found.
Public prosecutor Dimas Jimenez told a press conference that the raid was carried out due to suspicions of “forced pregnancy, mistreatment of minors and rape.”
The minors “were allegedly being abused by a member of the Lev Tahor sect,” Jimenez wrote on social media after the raid in Oratorio, southwest of Guatemala City.
The operation involved dozens of police officers as well as psychologists and social workers.
“Zero tolerance for child abuse!” said Jimenez, adding that the raid had the support of the US Department of Homeland Security.
This handout picture released by the Guatemalan Attorney General of the Nation’s Office (PGN) shows members of the PGN taking part in a child rescue operation at a Lev Tahor farm in the municipality of Oratorio, Guatemala, on December 20, 2024 (Handout / Guatemalan Attorney General of the Nation’s Office /AFP)
Lev Tahor is a secretive Jewish sect and little is known about its inner workings. The group adheres to an extreme interpretation of Jewish law that largely shields its members from the outside world and places tight strictures on aspects of everyday life, such as their diet and dress.
Officials had previously tried to check the condition of the minors but were blocked from entering the farm by members of the community.
Lev Tahor has accused authorities of religious persecution.
Authorities estimate that the community is made up of roughly 50 families from Guatemala, the United States, Canada, Israel and other countries.
Illustrative — Lev Tahor women and girls in Canada. (Screen grab/YouTube)
The sect has run into legal problems in various countries.
In 2022, Mexican authorities arrested a leader of the sect near the Guatemalan border and removed a number of women and children from their compound.
In 2021, two leaders of the group were convicted of kidnapping and child sexual exploitation crimes in New York. They allegedly kidnapped two children from their mother to return a 14-year-old girl to an illegal “sexual relationship” with an adult male.
Lev Tahor (Hebrew: לֵב טָהוֹר, lit. "pure heart") is an extremist Jewish sect[2][1] founded by Shlomo Helbrans in 1988. Often described as a cult,[3] it consists of about 200–300 members.[4] The group follows a fundamentalist form of Jewish practice and adheres to its own atypical interpretations of Jewish law, including practices such as lengthy prayer sessions, arranged marriages between teenagers, and head-to-toe black coverings for girls and women beginning at the age of three.[5][6] The group has faced accusations of kidnapping, sexual abuse, and child abuse, and some of its members have been charged and convicted of related offenses.[3][7][8][9]
The group has moved frequently, being located in Israel from 1988 to 1990, the United States from 1990 to 2000, Israel again from 2000 to 2003, Canada from 2003 to 2013, Guatemala in 2013 (after fleeing Canada),[1] Mexico since around 2017, and since late 2021, Romania[10] and Bosnia and Herzegovina.[11] Since February 2022 they are present in North Macedonia as well.[12] They often move in an attempt to flee government child welfare agencies.[13]
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