'Child rape' saves more than 200 people from Guatemalan Jewish organization

[Anchor]
Guatemala authorities have rescued more than 200 people, including children and women, who were abused by Jewish extremist organizations.

The group has repeatedly committed child trafficking and sexual assault, and this time, the remains of children have also been found and investigations are being conducted.

Reporter Shin Woong-jin's report.

[Reporter]
Police search the Jewish sect 'Lev Tahor' village in Santa Rosa district southeast of the capital Guatemala City.

This is because reports of sexual assault against minors have been received here since last month.

Authorities found a suspected child bone in a pit in the village and decided to investigate the area as well.

[Dimas Jimenez / Guatemalan Prosecutor: Human trafficking and other crimes, especially forced pregnancies, abuse of minors and sexual assault, are suspected]

Investigators found and rescued more than 200 people, including 160 abused children and teenagers, and 40 adult women.

[Nissan 25A / Lev Tahor Member: All children are detained here in the attorney's office. There are more than 200 people. In addition, 70 to 80 adults and men are being held in the Santa Rosa area.

'Lev Tahor' means 'pure heart' in Hebrew, which, contrary to its name, is an extremist force called the 'Judeo Taliban'.

It is a sect that originated in Israel in 1988 and is spread in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and has been settled in Guatemala since 2014.

They put forward their own rules and are causing a stir in society through trafficking of minors and forced marriage.

Earlier in 2022, a large number of children and teenagers were rescued from the Lev Tahor area of the southern Mexican state of Chiapas.

I'm YTN's Shin Woongjin.

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video: Joo Hye-min
Design: Jung Eun-ok