Sharon Daycare Abuse: Court Extends House Arrest for Three Assistants

The Petah Tikva Magistrates' Court extended the house arrest of three daycare assistants suspected of abusing toddlers at a nursery in the Sharon region by an additional eight days, until October 21. During the hearing, it was revealed that the suspicions against the three have intensified following the examination of security camera footage from the nursery, linking each of the suspects to a large number of incidents.

In addition, the court authorized the publication of the names of the three suspects, but ordered a 48-hour stay of execution, during which their identities will remain confidential.

Even before the hearing began, stormy clashes erupted at the court as parents of the toddlers greeted the three assistants with angry shouts. Some parents approached the suspects, and court guards were forced to intervene and separate them. The scenes repeated themselves at the end of the hearing as parents expressed their outrage toward the assistants.

During the hearing, police representative Adv. Yigal Fadida stated that the reasonable suspicion against the three suspects has strengthened, and that scanned materials from the nursery's security cameras show each of them is connected to numerous incidents. He noted that the prosecutor's office is already deeply involved in the investigation details.

Judge Dan Bauman addressed the escalation of suspicions during the hearing, stating: "The suspicion has grown regarding each of the suspects, and house arrest must be extended. Each of them has multiple incidents." The police had requested a ten-day extension, explaining investigators must review vast amounts of camera footage from eight cameras operating seven to eight hours daily.

Outside the courtroom, parents gathered to express fury over the alleged acts and demanded the investigation be expanded to other staff members, primarily the nursery director. One parent told Maariv: "The court determines, after viewing videos, that the severity of suspicions is intensifying. But we ask how the director, in whose nursery these horrors occurred, still walks free?"

Maariv has learned that among the severe suspicions investigated, it emerged that the assistants allegedly threw diapers filled with feces at the toddlers in order to humiliate them and enforce discipline. The investigation continues as police examine collected footage to determine the full scope of events.