Complaint of rape of a 7-year-old boy at a residential facility for children with special needs in Be'er Sheva
The child's father claims that a 17-year-old youth living at the facility, which is under the responsibility of the Ministry of Welfare, sexually abused his son on several occasions - and with the knowledge of staff members who did not report it. According to the police complaint, one of the instructors reported the incidents to the facility's social worker after she was fired - but nothing was done. The police have opened an investigation, the Ministry of Welfare: "We take every suspicion seriously."
The Magshimim Psagot residential facility in Be'er Sheva, which is under the responsibility of the Ministry of Welfare, ignored allegations of rape, abuse, and sexual harassment of one of the children at the facility, the child's father claims in a conversation he held today (Wednesday) with N12. According to the complaint, his 7-year-old minor son underwent prolonged sexual abuse by a 17-year-old youth who is also at the same facility.
The father described an apparent cover-up by the staff, except for one instructor who worked at the place and reported the incidents after her dismissal to the social worker responsible at the facility - but no action was taken to investigate the complaint. Meanwhile, the child has been removed from the facility, the suspected youth still lives there. According to the child's father, during part of the period when the incidents occurred, his son was 6 years old and lived in the same room at the facility with the suspected youth, alongside other teenagers aged 14-16. The incident was discovered just in the last two weeks.
"One of the instructors who was fired wrote to me that my son underwent sexual harassment at the facility," the father told N12. According to him, he subsequently held conversations with other instructors at the facility. In the conversations, allegations of prolonged sexual harassment were raised, and one of the instructors even said that she saw them touching his minor son. The father said that the allegations regarding the sexual abuse were known to officials at the facility more than a year ago, but despite this, he claims, no complaint was filed with the police at that time. "It is a child of only 7 who has gone through one big hell in the last two years," he described in the conversation with N12.
Serious suspicions being investigated
On behalf of Adv. Li Asaf Almakis, who represents the child's family, it was stated to N12: "This is a facility under the responsibility of the Ministry of Welfare, and in the recent period, severe incidents of violence are being exposed again and again, and now also extremely serious suspicions of sexual abuse of a minor, which allegedly continued over a long period. The most serious thing is not just the suspicions themselves, but the claims that staff members knew, saw, and did not report."
Adv. Almakis further clarified that the family does not intend to settle for promises or internal checks by the facility: "These are serious suspicions that are currently being investigated, and we will act to ensure that all matters are checked to the end. Anyone who turns out to have known, remained silent, and did not report or did not act as required - will have to answer for it."
The complaint comes against the background of the exposure of severe violence incidents that occurred at the facility a few months ago, in which an instructor at the facility beat children. The father also addressed these cases and said that in the past he had warned the officials responsible about the instructor, who he claims had a criminal record, worked without a license, and drove children. An indictment was filed against that instructor, according to the father he returned to work at the place.
Ministry of Welfare: We take it seriously
The police stated: "Upon receiving the report, testimony was taken from the minor by a special child investigator, as it concerns an alleged rape offense that he is complaining about. The case is still ongoing at the Be'er Sheva station."
Response of the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security: "The Ministry of Welfare takes every suspicion of abuse seriously and acts immediately to check the issue and provide an appropriate response. In this case, no complaint was received from the child about the abuse and the facility staff learned about the abuse after receiving the report from his father. Immediately upon receiving the report, comprehensive checks were conducted and even in them no indications of an incident arose. Despite this, and in order to perform an additional in-depth check, the child was sent accompanied by his father to the Beit Lin protection center for the purpose of conducting an adapted investigation. The child currently stays at his father's house and the facility is in contact with him including home visits after school hours. The ministry will continue to accompany the handling of the case, while maintaining the child's safety and protection."
