Israeli prosecutors filed a sweeping indictment Sunday against the manager of the private Luchik daycare center in Ariel, Natalia Kislevsky, 37, and two caregivers, Drina Khalufa, 37, and Anna Pagelsky, 40, alleging more than 400 incidents of abuse and assault involving 17 babies and toddlers between the ages of six months and three years. The following article contains graphic descriptions of alleged child abuse.
Prosecutors asked the Central District Court to keep all three defendants in custody until the end of legal proceedings. The nearly 100-page indictment, filed by attorney Yehonatan Ayalon-Hirsch of the Central District Prosecutor’s Office, describes what prosecutors allege was an exceptionally severe and prolonged pattern of violence and abuse against babies and toddlers, some only months old.
According to the indictment, the three defendants exploited their positions at the daycare, the extreme imbalance of power and the children’s complete dependence on them. Prosecutors allege that on numerous occasions they assaulted and abused the children, causing physical and emotional harm. The indictment includes multiple counts of abuse of a minor or helpless person by a responsible caregiver, assault of a helpless person causing actual injury and aggravated assault.
Families of the babies and toddlers outside the courtroom
(Photo: Dana Kopel)
Prosecutors say the defendants employed several recurring forms of punishment, described in the indictment as a “choking method,” a “binding method,” force-feeding and confinement in a dark room.
The ‘choking method’: according to the indictment, the defendants allegedly gripped toddlers by the head and forcibly obstructed their breathing with their hands, paper or cloth while holding the backs of their necks to prevent them from moving. Prosecutors say the children were shaken, bent forward and pressed forcefully into mattresses for extended periods. In some cases, the alleged obstruction of their airways continued repeatedly even after children began choking, turned red and struggled to breathe, leaving some disoriented and unable to maintain their balance.
The ‘binding method’ and force-feeding: prosecutors allege that children were aggressively wrapped in fabric and blankets with their arms pinned to their bodies, then tightly restrained so they could not move and placed on their stomachs. In some cases, the indictment says, Pagelsky and Khalufa force-fed children while they were restrained, tilting their heads backward, using physical pressure to open their jaws and forcing pureed food into their mouths rapidly and forcefully. Prosecutors also allege that their faces were wiped roughly and painfully with paper.
Confinement in a dark room: according to the indictment, children were allegedly shut inside a closed, dark room for significant periods without supervision as punishment, while their crying and attempts to leave were ignored.
The three defendants, from left: Natalia Kislevsky, Anna Pagelsky and Drina ‘Dasha’ Khalufa
Beyond the alleged physical violence, prosecutors also accuse the defendants of psychological abuse. The indictment says many of the alleged acts were carried out in front of other children at the daycare, who repeatedly witnessed violence against their peers.
According to prosecutors, some children responded by crying or approaching the child who had allegedly been hurt. The State Attorney’s Office argues that repeatedly exposing toddlers to the alleged abuse of other children amounted to psychological abuse in itself.
The case was investigated by a special police team from the Samaria district investigations unit and Ariel police.
Injuries allegedly suffered by children at the daycare
In its request to keep the defendants detained throughout the proceedings, the Central District Prosecutor’s Office argued that they pose a high risk because of the nature and frequency of the alleged offenses, the extremely young ages of the children and what prosecutors described as a systematic and profound breach of the trust placed in them by parents.
Prosecutors said the daycare, rather than serving as a safe, protective and developmental environment, allegedly became a place where children lived in constant fear of the next incident.
The indictment alleges that on repeated occasions the defendants lifted children and threw them forcefully onto mattresses or the floor, hit, pushed, pulled and violently shook them while ignoring their crying and attempts to resist. Prosecutors say the alleged violence was repeated and sustained and involved several severe methods of physical abuse.