The operator of a daycare center in central Israel who has been accused of abusing nearly a dozen infants and toddlers will be released to house arrest, after a host was found to sign for the defendant.
Carmel Mauda, the twenty-five-year-old owner and operator of the Baby Love daycare center in Rosh Haayin, will be released to house arrest, following an order by the Lod District Court Thursday afternoon.
This is the second time Mauda has been released from prison, and the third time a court has ordered her to be released to house arrest.
In order to prevent a repeat of the protests which ultimately led to the hosts backing out on the arrangement, the court has banned publication of the time of Mauda’s release and the location of the home where she will be staying at during her trial
In September, Mauda, was released from prison – only to be returned to the Neveh Tirtzeh women’s prison hours later after her host for house arrest backed out on the arrangement amid protests by parents of the abused children, criticism by the host’s neighbors, and concerns over the host’s safety.
Days earlier, the Supreme Court had ordered that Mauda be released to house arrest as soon as a host could be found to sign for Mauda. A family from the Ramot neighborhood in Jerusalem had initially agreed to host Mauda, but backed out at the last second, following protests by relatives of the abused children.
Two months earlier , 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.