'Can't wait.' The suspect
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Abusive mother allowed to visit toddler
Jerusalem District Court allows woman suspected of starving three-year-old son to see him under Social Services' supervision; orders her other children be questioned by youth investigator
Jerusalem District Court Judge Moshe Ravid ordered Wednesday to have the "starving mother's" children questioned by a special youth investigator.
Ravid also granted the prosecution's request to leave the three-year-old boy allegedly starved by his mother in his uncle's custody.
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The woman would be allowed to visit the toddler under the supervision of a social worker and a Family Services psychologist. She was also granted phone rights allowing her to speak to him outside the visits.
The supervised visits, ruled Ravid, will take place at the uncles' home, the Beit Shemesh Social Services Center, or at Jerusalem's Schusterman Center. The court decided on the change of venue after a previous visit, held in the capital's Ramot Eshkol neighborhood, ended with an attack on the court-appointed social worker.
Ravid also decided to leave the Juvenile Court decision allowing the mother to speak to her son over the phone standing, saying there was no evidence that such contact would be harmful to the boy.
Both the prosecution and the defense will state their case again once briefs of the other children's questioning sessions are submitted. At that time, the court is also expected to rule on whether the woman poses a threat to her other children.
Attorneys Reuven Bar-Haim and David Halevy, for the mother, were pleased with the court's decision, saying their client "has spoken with her son and cannot wait to see him again."
