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2 leaders of Jewish Lev Tahor cult convicted of kidnapping, child exploitation


Two top leaders of the extremist Jewish group Lev Tahor were convicted of child sexual exploitation and kidnapping by a federal court in New York on Wednesday.


Nachman Helbrans and Mayer Rosner face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison for the conviction. The sentence for the case at the federal Southern District of New York court will be meted out later by a judge.


“Nachman Helbrans and Mayer Rosner brazenly kidnapped two children from their mother in the middle of the night to return a 14-year-old girl to an illegal sexual relationship with an adult man. Today’s verdict makes clear that our Office – and our law enforcement partners – will not be deterred from achieving justice for victims of child sexual exploitation,” said US Attorney Damian Williams.


'They tried to make me marry my 12-year-old cousin'


An 18-year-old who fled an extremist Jewish cult called Lev Tahor has recounted his horrific upbringing in the group - revealing that his father died after the leaders refused to let him see a doctor.


Mendy Levy, who was born in Canada in 2003, recalled being forced to swim in freezing cold, snake-filled water and eat hot pepper if he told a lie. When he was 15 years old, he was told he had to marry his 12 year old cousin, and that was the last straw for him.


Mendy said the group, which was founded by Shlomo Helbrans in the 1980s, was about 'total control.'


“I escaped from Lev Tahor at the age of 17”

Updated: Jun 30, 2022


"I was born into the Lev Tahor sect on November 20, 2001," says Levy, who at the age of 20 found the motivation and strength to escape from the only way of life he knew: a sect classified as "dangerous," where It is imposed from the way of dressing to marriage.


The story of this young man is especially emotional, because he managed to escape despite the fact that Lev Tahor was his only known universe.



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