Suspect arrested over fire at home of daycare manager accused of child abuse
Reports say alleged arsonist is combat soldier, 18, who is related to parents of a boy who attended the center; protests calling for stricter supervision set for Sunday
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The police said Saturday evening that they have arrested a suspect in connection with a fire earlier in the day at the home of a daycare manager who has been filmed abusing small children.
The home of Carmel Mauda was damaged by the blaze in the central city of Rosh Ha’ayin, as were several nearby residences. There were no reports of injuries in the fire.
Hebrew-language media said the suspect is an 18-year-old combat soldier from the West Bank settlement of Karnei Shomron. He was taken for questioning and will appear at Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court on Sunday for a remand hearing.
Channel 12 news reported that the suspect is related the parents of a boy who had previously attended the daycare. According to Channel 13 news, there is security camera footage of him at the scene of the fire.
Investigators said Saturday afternoon they believe the blaze started in a storage area of the building, where they found signs the fire had been set deliberately.
Authorities said they had finished their investigation of the building and had sent evidence to a laboratory for further tests.
שריפה פרצה בבניין ברחוב הסנהדרין בראש העין. על פי החשד מדובר בביתה של כרמל מעודה, הגננת שתועדה מתעללת בפעוטות. לא היו נפגעים באירוע @almazmangisto
(צילום: דוברות המשטרה) pic.twitter.com/65wqsggeA8
— חדשות 13 (@newsisrael13) July 6, 2019
The home is also the site of the private Baby Love daycare center, where the alleged abuse took place.
Mauda, 25, is being held at Neveh Tirza prison in Ramle, where she is awaiting charges in the case. She was arrested in June, but on Thursday, police released footage of the alleged abuse, leading to widespread anger against her and protests outside her home.
On Saturday night, a group of parents gathered outside the prison to protest.
Mauda’s lawyer Guy Ein-Zvi condemned vigilantism by those angry over the abuse.
“We understand the pain and anger of the parents but a red line was crossed. People took the law into their own hands, acting thuggishly and endangering lives,” he said in a statement. “Carmel’s trial should be held in court and not the town square,” he added.
A lawyer representing parents of children who attended the daycare denied earlier in the day that they were involved in the fire.
“The parents of the children are angry and shocked over the grave crimes that were carried out, but are not criminals and I have no doubt that a thorough investigation will conclude they have no connection to the fire,” Benjamin Malka, a lawyer for the families, told Hebrew media.
The fire came after police released graphic security camera footage on Thursday showing Mauda tying up children, force-feeding them, smothering toddlers who refuse to fall asleep with blankets and physically abusing them.
Mauda, 25, was arrested three weeks ago. The children in her care were aged three months to three years.
“I’m in shock,” a parent told Channel 13 news. “My son is in almost every video tied to a chair or [tied up] on the floor, and this isn’t even everything. The police showed me even worse videos.”
Sgt. Fraidi Kamenetsky said the police plan to file charges against Mouda with a request she be held in custody until the end of the proceedings. During an interrogation, an unnamed assistant was also arrested on suspicion that she witnessed the abuse and may have also resorted to violence.
Around 50 people demonstrated Saturday evening outside the jail where Mauda is being held, the Haaretz daily reported. The protest, originally planned to take place outside the daycare center, was moved to the prison facility after the fire.
Further protests are scheduled to take place on Sunday at six locations around the country: outside the prime minister’s home in Jerusalem, the government compound in Tel Aviv, in Haifa opposite the Gan Ha’Em public garden, the municipality building in Beersheba, at Paris Square in Kiryat Gat and in Modiin.
Parents are demanding changes to childcare oversight laws, including tougher sentences for abusive daycare workers and better regulations for supervision of daycare centers.
Ahaz Agam, chairman of the National Parks Parents’ Committee and one of the protest organizers, told Channel 13 that parents feel the government is wasting time while more cases of abuse by child care workers come to light.
In recent years numerous cases of abuse have been reported including the killing of an 18-month old baby girl by a caretaker.
In June of 2018 the government came under fire for the continued delay of a proposed supervision law as ministries squabbled over funding the project. The law was finally passed in December, but only mandates security cameras in all daycare centers starting in September 2020, as long as 70 percent of the parents do not object.
The Times of Israel Community.