Ariel Daycare Owner and Aides Detained Amid Severe Child Abuse Probe
A Petah Tikva court extended the detention of Ariel daycare owner Natalia Kasilvsky and two assistants over hundreds of alleged severe child abuse incidents captured on camera.
Parents of toddlers have described the Luchik Daycare in Ariel as a "house of Satan," as a severe abuse investigation unfolds involving the facility's owner and staff. Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court Judge Dan Bauman extended the detention of daycare owner Natalia Kasilvsky by five days. She is suspected of severe abuse against toddlers under her care, alongside two detained assistants, Anna Peglsky and Darina Chalufa. Investigators from the Ariel police station uncovered hundreds of alleged incidents of toddler abuse captured on the daycare's security cameras.
Severity of the Investigation
Among the acts under investigation are cases of alleged toddler suffocation intended to induce sleep, slamming toddlers onto the floor, kicking, severe acts of harm, and other violent incidents directed at helpless children. Police officials have described the case as one of the most severe abuse investigations in the history of the Israel Police, both due to the number of incidents exposed and the extreme severity of the alleged actions attributed to the suspects.
A further hearing regarding the two assistants is scheduled at the Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court, where police will seek a further extension of their detention. The decision comes in light of solid evidence linking the suspects to the alleged offenses. The court emphasized the clear public and social interest in releasing the names of the suspects. Police intend to pursue the continued detention of all suspects, followed by the submission of a prosecutor's statement in preparation for severe indictments.
Impact on Families
Meanwhile, the toddlers' parents are struggling to process the harrowing findings. For them, the place where they entrusted their children every morning, believing they were in safe hands, has turned into a nightmare. Mothers Noam Harlaui and Hila Feigin, whose daughters were harmed at the daycare, described their anguish: "This pain does not pass. It sits on the chest like a heavy weight, waking up with every cry, every startle, every memory. The heart is shattered, and there is no comfort that can gather the pieces."
Oren Hazan, a father of two infants harmed at the facility, shared: "This affair is not just another news headline for me. It touches the deepest and most sensitive place, where we as parents entrust what is most precious to us into other hands, trusting that our children are safe, protected, and loved. The thought that this trust was abused to harm helpless infants and toddlers is incomprehensible. There is nothing more precious than our children and no greater fear than monsters harming them with such cruelty."
