Colombia frees 17 minors from Jewish cult facing sex abuse probes
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Colombian immigration authorities rescued Sunday 17 minors from members of Lev Tahor, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish cult facing child sex abuse investigations.
Lev Tahor, which practices a form of Judaism in which women wear black tunics covering them from head to toe, has been the subject of investigations for the mistreatment of minors in several countries.
“We have rescued 17 boys, girls and teens,” the country’s immigration service said on X, with pictures of some of the children, their faces blurred or shielded from view.
“International alerts have been issued over crimes against minors associated with this community.”
The raid took place on Saturday, police said. The minors – who are of various nationalities, including American and Guatemalan – were taken to a government-run center.
“There are indications that some of them may have been kidnapped, suggesting a possible human trafficking scenario, under the guise of religious activity,” a police report said.
The Lev Tahor cult was formed in the 1980s, and some members settled in Guatemala in 2013. Authorities estimate that the community is made up of roughly 50 families from Guatemala, the United States, Canada and other countries.
Lev Tahor has also run into problems with officials in Mexico and Canada.
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