Content warning: This story contains descriptions of child abuse, violence, and assault.
The Jerusalem District Court sentenced Elazar Rumpler, a senior figure within extremist haredi (ultra-Orthodox) cult Lev Tahor, to two years in prison and fines, following a conviction for a serious act of violence against a 10-year-old child in front of other Lev Tahor cult members, the State Attorney's Office confirmed on Thursday.
Rumpler consented to a plea agreement with the court, the State Attorney's Office clarified. As part of the agreement, he was sentenced to two years in prison, minus time served as part of his detention, a conditional prison sentence, a fine of NIS 10,000, and ordered to pay the victim compensation worth NIS 12,000.
Rumpler, according to the court's findings, was involved in an incident where the child was stripped, placed on a table, and beaten on his back and buttocks, in front of peers.
Rumpler was, therefore, convicted of aggravated assault causing actual bodily harm. He was also convicted of leaving Israel in violation of a travel ban.
Israel requests Rumpler's arrest in El Salvador after breaching travel ban
Rumpler was arrested in El Salvador last January, following an Israeli request to arrest and extradite him to face justice in the Israeli system.
The Jerusalem District Prosecutor's Office attorney stressed the extreme severity of harming a helpless child, particularly when it was carried out within a closed community, and exploiting the power dynamics shown within the cult.
Lev Tahor cult leaders have history of ties to cases of child abuse
This is not the first scandal tying Lev Tahor cult leaders with instances of child abuse.
The cult fled Quebec in November 2013, after provincial authorities closed in on cases of child abuse and neglect across the community. Almost the entire community drove by bus overnight to Ontario, where Quebecois authorities could not enforce the findings of their investigation.
However, in March 2014, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice effectuated a ruling of the Superior Court of Quebec, causing some senior cult leaders to attempt to flee to Guatemala, via Trinidad and Tobago.
In December 2024, Guatemalan authorities raided a cult compound in the central American country, rescuing 160 children and adolescents.
In May, Guatemalan authorities located the remains of a one-year-old baby within the compound, KAN News reported at the time.
Such instances led the Knesset Immigration, Absorption, and Diaspora Affairs Committee in June to discuss the possibility that Jerusalem should involve itself in rescuing children from the cult.
In 2018, the cult was heavily denounced, even by other anti-Zionist haredi sects, for attempting to seek asylum in Iran and pledging loyalty to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Avihai Chiim contributed to this report.