The suspect
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Abusive mom unlikely to be separated from kids
Court orders Parole Service to review option which would allow haredi woman suspected of starving toddler son to remain home with other children; orders third case review
With one week left until the trial of the haredi woman suspected of starving her
three-year-old son begins, the court is still struggling to decide the terms of her house arrest.
The Jerusalem District Court convened yet another session on the matter Thursday, during which presiding Justice Moshe Ravid said he was inclined to agree to a situation which will allow the woman to have regular contact with her children.
Fair Trial?
Investigators say were unable to derive relevant information during interrogation of mother's other children due to influence of elements within Jerusalem's haredi community
The woman is currently under house arrest in her Meah Shearim neighborhood home. H., the toddler she is suspected of harming, has been removed from the family home and is staying with relatives.
The State has expressed concerns that the woman may pose a danger to her children, but court ordered Parole Service reviews on the matter have been inconclusive.
Ravid ordered three contingencies be explored: The first – having the woman live outside Meah Shearim and granting her daily, supervised visits with her children; the second – having both the mother and children relocate outside the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood and live together, under court supervision; and the third – allowing both mother and children to remain where they are, and having four additional women move into the family home.
Ravid himself supports the second option, but said that should the second or third contingencies be chosen by the Parole Service, it should also explore the possibility of leaving the woman unguarded in the event none of the children are home.
The Parole Service was supposed to file its second review of the case with the court Thursday, but told the judge that the woman refused to cooperate and therefore no review was conducted.
Parole Service reviews are usually ordered while defendants are in police custody, in an attempt to ascertain whether they should be placed under house arrest, and therefore the majority of them are eager to cooperate.
State Prosecution attorneys Tal Weissman-Shahar and Maayan Oren Rimon told Ynet that since the woman is already under house arrest, she has no motivation to cooperate with the court, "Which is unheard of."
The State reiterated its demand that the woman be removed from home and separated from her other children – as the Parole Service initially recommended.
The defense, however, insists the woman poses no danger to her other children.
