Lev Tahor search warrants allege child abuse

JASON MAGDER MONTREAL — A 17-year-old pregnant teen was taken by ambulance to the Montreal Children’s Hospital, where she reported to nurses she was beaten by her brother, sexually abused by her father, and married at age 15 to a 30-year-old man, according to newly released court documents.

The incident occurred on Dec. 11, 2012, and was one of several allegations of abuse that authorities documented about the ultraOrthodox Jewish sect Lev Tahor in Ste-Agathe-des-Monts, Que., over the span of two years.

While photos were taken of the teen’s injuries, neither police officers nor youth protection case workers were able to speak with her because she was incoherent.

In another case, Quebec’s Youth Protection Department removed a girl in the spring of 2012 after she reported to authorities her father, and the wife of one of the community’s leaders, Mayer Rosner, hit her several times with a belt over the period of six months. The documents don’t detail whether the girl was ever returned to her family.

The documents were unsealed in court last week after a consortium of media sought access. The information to obtain the search warrant was released by the Surete du Quebec (SQ) Friday and was heavily redacted. The allegations have not been proven and the identities of children in the community are protected by a court order.

On April 24, 2012, Quebec police investigator Stephane Chartrand received a document detailing allegations of abuse in the community, including locking girls in basements as a form of punishment, removing children from their families, controlling members of the community with psychological drugs, and forcing girls aged 14 and 15 to get married, where the minimum legal age in Canada is 16.

Quebec’s Youth Protection Department made regular visits to the community in the summer and fall of 2013, where they noted unsanitary conditions in the homes of community members, but they were working with the community to address several concerns.