Carmel Mauda in court
Carmel Mauda in courtEsti Dasibov, TPS

A daycare center operator from central Israel was released to house arrest Sunday, drawing protests from neighbors, as well as the families of the alleged victims.

Carmel Mauda, 25, was released to house arrest Sunday, following a Supreme Court ruling last week enabling her to remain out of prison during her trial.

Last Thursday, the court ruled that because of the very specific nature of the kind of abuse Mauda carried out, she may be permitted to stay in house arrest until the end of her trial.

“Given that the dangers posed by Mauda are limited to the very specific circumstances of children under her care, it is decided that she may be released to house arrest, with limiting conditions,” wrote Justice Yitzhak Amit.

Mauda was originally slated to be released Thursday to house arrest at a home in the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Following protests led by parents of the alleged victims, however, the family which was to have hosted Mauda backed out at the last minute.

Over the weekend, however, Mauda found another host, a man living in the Sharon region in central Israel.

On Sunday, Mauda was released from custody to house arrest, drawing criticism both from parents of the children Mauda allegedly abused, as well as neighbors of Mauda’s host, who feared they could suffer if Mauda was targeted during her stay in the apartment building.

“I don’t accept her being here,” Rachel Voll, the superintendent of the apartment building told Israel Hayom. “I couldn’t bear to see what she did to those children.”

Another resident of the building said the neighbors “absolutely would not accept her staying here at all. The parents of the children from her preschool said they’d make problems here. There’s also a daycare here, and the parents called up the manager and said that they won’t bring their children in if [Mauda] is here.”

Two months ago, Mauda’s apartment in Rosh Haayin was torched by 18-year-old Adir Ratzon, who was apparently hired by parents of one of Mauda’s alleged victims.

Authorities have charged Mauda with 18 counts of abuse against 11 different children who had been enrolled at her ‘Baby Love’ daycare center in Rosh Haayin.

According to the indictment, Mauda is accused of covering the children's heads with a blanket and sitting on them to prevent movement; tying a minor’s hands using string for minutes to hours; picking up minors by forcefully grasping the arm; swinging them in the air and throwing them onto the floor; shaking babies; placing toddlers facing the wall, sometimes for several hours; whipping the minors with a diaper, slapping them, pinching and pulling toddlers' heads back, blocking their noses and mouths until breathing difficulties arose. In one case she forced a minor to eat the contents of a plate into which he vomited.