Guatemala takes 160 minors, 40 women from Lev Tahor sect into protective custody amid abuse allegations

Guatemalan authorities search the compound of an extremist ultra-orthodox Jewish sect, taking at least 160 minors and 40 women into protective custody after reports of abuse.

Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez says the National Civil Police and members of military participated in the raid on the Lev Tahor group’s community about 55 miles (90 kilometers) southeast of the capital.

“The protection of boys and girls is an absolute priority,” Jiménez says.

Guatemala’s Attorney General’s Office says in a statement on the social platform X that suspected bones of one child were found.

The office says a complaint was made in November of possible crimes including forced pregnancies, mistreatment of minors and rape.

Officials had previously tried to check the condition of the minors but were blocked from entering the farm by members of the community.

Lev Tahor has accused authorities of religious persecution.

The sect has run into legal problems in various countries.

In 2022, Mexican authorities arrested a leader of the sect near the Guatemalan border and removed a number of women and children from their compound.

In 2021, two leaders of the group were convicted of kidnapping and child sexual exploitation crimes in New York. They allegedly kidnapped two children from their mother to return a 14-year-old girl to an illegal sexual relationship with an adult male.

Lev Tahor is a secretive sect and little is known about its inner workings. The group adheres to an extreme interpretation of Jewish law that largely shields its members from the outside world and places tight strictures on aspects of everyday life, such as their diet and dress.

The sect is known to have members in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Guatemala and Israel.