Ariel Daycare Manager and Two Staff Charged with 400 Acts of Abuse Against 17 Children
Indictment alleges caregivers covered children's airways, shook them, and left them in dark rooms as punishment.
By Samuel Hayes ·
Israel has faced a series of daycare abuse scandals in recent years, leading to new camera mandates. On Sunday, November 8, prosecutors in the West Bank settlement of Ariel filed charges against three staff members accused of violent misconduct.
The indictment covers 17 children, some as young as six months old, who attended the private Luchik daycare. The manager, Natalia Kisilevsky, age 37, and caregivers Daryna Khalupa, age 37, and Anna Pagelsky, age 40, stand accused of more than 400 acts of abuse and assault. They appeared at the Central District Court in Lod, where prosecutors requested their detention until the trial concludes.
Prosecutor Yehonatan Eilon-Hirsch described a pattern of severe and prolonged violence. The indictment alleges that the defendants covered children's airways with hands, paper, or cloth while gripping their necks to restrict movement. They also reportedly shook children, bent their bodies forward, and pressed them against mattresses for long periods. In some instances, the obstruction of breathing continued even after the children began choking and struggling.
Additional charges include force-feeding and isolation. Pagelsky and Khalupa are accused of tilting children's heads back, forcing their jaws open, and rapidly pushing pureed food into their mouths. The staff allegedly wiped the children's faces painfully with paper. Prosecutors also claim the defendants wrapped infants tightly in blankets with arms immobilized and placed them on their stomachs. Children who misbehaved were reportedly left alone in dark, closed rooms to cry without supervision.
Investigators reviewed digital communications between staff and parents. Channel 12 News reported finding messages where Pagelsky sent a photo of a scratch and attributed it to outdoor play, claiming she had applied ointment. A mother of an 18-month-old boy told Ynet that her son attended the daycare for only 26 days before his behavior changed. She reported that he began waking up screaming 15 times a night and becoming anxious around other children from the center.
The case highlights the ongoing debate over childcare safety in Israel. Since September 2020, daycare centers serving at least seven children under three must install cameras unless 70 percent of parents object. This rule followed national protests sparked by earlier abuse cases involving security footage.
