Kindergarten teacher accused of feeding children their own vomit
Carmel Mauda who worked at a private nursery in central Israel was caught on video abusing toddlers, including slapping them with towels and forcing one child to eat dinner with hands tied behind his back
The 25-year-old Carmel Mauda who worked in a private nursery called “Baby Love” in the city of Rosh Haayin, was arrested on suspicion of child abuse two weeks ago.
The video shows one incident in which Mauda is attempting to strap a child - whose hands are seen tied behind his back - to a chair. The child is seen crying and falling to the floor while his hands are still tied up.
“Initially he was tied up for 32 minutes and then for another 56 minutes,” said a police investigator during a court hearing where the video evidence was presented. “This little boy was eating his lunch while his hands were tied behind his back.”
The mother, who was at the court hearing, sobbed after seeing the footage and hearing the investigator’s account, saying, “This is my child.”
The investigator said although all the children attending the nursery had been subjected to abuse, the child in question was targeted more than others. “He went through everything,” he said.
Incidents of abuse of other children seen in the surveillance video were also addressed by the investigator during the hearing. “You can see one child, who must be less than a year old, has two mattresses thrown on top of him,” he said. “In another video you see a child is being kicked just for standing in the way.”
Mauda was arrested on June 21 and has remained under arrest (which has been extended several times) since then. Next week the 25 year old is expected to be brought to the Lod District Court where she will be officially charged. She’s accused of assaulting the helpless as well as physically and mentally abusing toddlers.
When Mauda was confronted with the footage by the police, she claimed as far as she’s concerned her actions don’t constitute abuse.
In addition, a kindergarten teacher's assistant who worked at the nursery is accused of witnessing the abuse and even participating in some of it. She was arrested and later released under house arrest. The legal proceedings against her are ongoing.
