More than a year after the indictment was filed against her, the Haifa District Court today (Tuesday) convicted Sarit Ben Hamo (49), a director and caregiver of a kindergarten in Kiryat Ata, of several offenses of abuse of a minor and assault. At the same time, she was acquitted of emotional abuse of preschool toddlers, as well as several offenses of abuse.
"How can she be acquitted of so many counts of abuse that prove what she did?" said Noy Maman Dropevsky, mother of a girl from kindergarten. She finished our children, force-fed them, beat them, crushed them and ended our lives." The mother points an accusing finger at the court: "What is the judge's message to abusers? Will you go to the courts and we'll acquit you?"
Conviction of abusive kindergarten teacher Sarit Ben Hamo // Photo: Michelle Mechel
According to the facts described in the indictment, Ben-Hamo used violence towards the toddlers, including through aggressive feeding. "The defendant used to feed the toddlers hard and caused them pain by pushing spoonfuls full of food into their mouths continuously and without stopping, sometimes holding their heads or faces and pushing the food into them," the indictment states. Today, as stated, Ben Hamo was convicted of two offenses of abuse of a minor by a supervisor and 31 offenses of simple assault.
Attorney Tomer Naveh and attorney Anas Dirawi, Ben Hamo's attorneys, said in response that she was "acquitted of most of the offenses and we will study the verdict."
"Judge Erez Porat time and time again does not do justice to the children. Every time we come to his courtroom and know that the parents will come out shattered," said Chen Kubritz Cohen, of the Children's Struggle Headquarters, which is accompanying the parents after the verdict. "
The mothers in court after the verdict (from right to left: Hagit Peretz, Noy Maman Dropevsky, Karin Miralashvili), Photo: Michel Mechel
She added: "How can he exonerate this woman of so many counts of abuse when there are videos of her horrific actions? Acquit her of emotional abuse when toddlers are dealing with the harsh consequences of her actions? I very much hope that the State Prosecutor's Office will appeal this despicable verdict. Because, as we have learned, in previous cases as well, Erez Porat's decisions are not final when they reach the Supreme Court."
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us