Three Lev Tahor Leaders Convicted of Child Exploitation and Kidnapping Offenses

Yoil Weingarten, Yakov Weingarten, and Shmiel Weingarten, leaders of Lev Tahor, an extremist radical sect based in Guatemala comprised of Jews who dress like Orthodox Jews, have been found guilty of kidnapping a 12-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl and transporting the 14-year-old girl outside the United States to continue an inappropriate relationship with her adult male ‘husband.’

With this verdict, all nine Lev Tahor leaders and operatives charged for these heinous crimes have been held accountable.

“The defendants’ conduct — which included forced child marriages, physical beatings, and family separations — is unthinkable and has caused irreparable harm to children in their formative years,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “Whether in the name of religion or any other belief system, subjecting children to physical, sexual, or emotional abuse will never be tolerated by this Office.”

How We Got Here

The trio, Shmiel, Yakov, and Yoil Weingarten, faced conviction for the 2018 abduction of two minors who had been taken by their mother from the group. The older of the two, a 14-year-old bride named Jane, was believed by the jury to have been seized to facilitate her resumption of inappropriate relations with her 20-year-old spouse.

After a brief deliberation of less than four hours, a federal jury in White Plains rejected the Weingarten brothers’ assertions. They contended that the girl and her 12-year-old brother, referred to as Jane and John Doe, had been liberated from abusive circumstances in New York. However, the jury dismissed this narrative, finding that the primary motive behind reuniting the girl with her community and husband was indeed linked to inappropriate activities.

Potential consequences for the brothers include a maximum prison term of 30 years, with a minimum of 10 years for transporting a minor for inappropriate purposes. Additionally, they were found guilty of conspiracy charges and international parental abduction. Sentencing by U.S. District Judge Nelson Roman is slated for July 9.

The verdict marked the culmination of legal proceedings against nine leaders and members of Lev Tahor implicated in the case. Previous trials had resulted in convictions for four others, including the sect’s leader Nachman Helbrans and Mayer Rosner, the groom’s father. Two additional individuals had pleaded guilty, including Yakov Rosner, Jane Doe’s spouse.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie Bagliebter emphasized the gravity and simplicity of the case during her closing arguments. She underscored the illegality of forcibly removing children from a custodial parent and transporting a minor across borders for sexual purposes, asserting that disagreement with the law did not justify its violation.

Lev Tahor was established in Israel during the 1980s by Shlomo Helbrans, grandfather to the affected children. Over the years, the community relocated across several countries, including Guatemala, following encounters with child welfare and immigration authorities.

Following Shlomo Helbrans’ demise in Mexico in 2017, leadership passed to his son, Nachman. Tensions arose within the sect, particularly concerning the arranged marriage of Sara Helbrans’ daughter, Jane Doe, prompting Sara’s departure from the community with three of her children to Brooklyn.

In autumn 2018, the children’s father escorted Jane, John, and their sibling to a Mexican embassy to obtain new passports. However, Mexican authorities intervened, leading to the children’s return to New York. Subsequently, Sara Helbrans secured legal custody of all her children, backed by a Brooklyn Family Court order.

The events of December 8, 2018, saw the children being aided in leaving their Woodridge, New York, residence by a former Lev Tahor member, Shimon Malka. They were subsequently transported to a motel to change attire before embarking on a journey that would eventually take them to Mexico.

Twenty days later, the children were located and brought back to New York. While Shmiel Weingarten admitted to his role in orchestrating the children’s removal, he denied allegations of kidnapping. His brothers, although abroad at the time, were implicated in the planning and subsequent events in Mexico.

Representing themselves, the defendants argued that the prosecution failed to establish unlawful intent in the children’s removal. They challenged the validity of the court order and contended that the act was driven by a perceived need to rescue the children from abuse.

Central to their defense was the assertion that their objective was to reunite the children with the Lev Tahor community, emphasizing the bond between Jane and her husband. However, prosecutors argued that returning Jane to her spouse, with whom she was expected to engage in inappropriate activity, constituted transportation of a minor for inappropriate purposes.

Shmiel Weingarten dismissed the testimonies of former Lev Tahor members as distractions and emphasized the significance of Jane and John’s accounts. He asserted that Jane had expressed a desire to return to the community, framing the events as a response to her wishes.

Bagliebter cautioned the jury against allowing the defendants to shift blame onto a child, emphasizing that the responsibility lay solely with the adult perpetrators.

{Matzav.com}