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Jerusalem police arrest suspected cult leader who kept dozens of women, children
Police on Monday arrested a Jerusalem man, along with eight women, suspected of running a cult in which dozens of women and young children lived in exploitative and slave-like conditions beholden to the man’s whims, authorities said Monday.
Some reports on Hebrew media said the man, in his 60s, was also suspected of sexually exploiting the women.
Police said the community operated for years in the Bukharim Quarter, in the city center, under the guise of a women’s seminar. In it, some 50 women lived in a state of overcrowding, deprivation and poor sanitation. Many had children — an exact number was not provided — aged one to five, who were held in seclusion within the compound on a regular basis.
Authorities said the leader of the suspected cult controlled the women’s lives with absolute authority, isolating them from their families and society at large and punishing them for transgressions through various means. The women were employed in jobs approved by the suspect, and some of their wages were transferred directly to him.
Publicité
