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Mendy Levy tells American media that when she was 15 she never had a basketball, teddy bears, cell phone or television.
This was because he was born into the radical Jewish sect Lev Tahor where he should not have trusted foreigners nor social services, as according to them they wanted to take the children from their families to raise them according to the general line.
But the teenager says it peaked in September 2018 when Lev Tahor cult leader Nachman Helbrans (whose father, Shlomo Helbrans founded the group), had ordered him to marry his first 12-year-old cousin.
“I knew it was wrong. “After a service Friday night, Nachman called us to make the deal,” said Levy, now 18.
His cousin’s face was covered, as is the tradition for women in the Lev Tahor group, who must wear loose black clothing. “She was crying out loud and I did not want to do it, and we were forced to admit but not emotionally. Rabbi soaked a piece of bread in the borscht, gave it to me and said, ‘Mazel tov, now you are engaged.’ “
Levy says he did not mean no. “I was afraid I would become one charim [i përjashtuar]”I was afraid they would lock me up somewhere and beat me.”
The Lev Tahor group was formed in the 1980s to practice Judaism as it did thousands of years ago.
Last November a federal judge went to New York convicted Nachman Helbrans and other leader Mayer Rosner on charges of trafficking in minors for the purpose of sexual activity.
Authorities say Helbrans arranged for his 13-year-old granddaughter from Woodridge, New York, to marry a 19-year-old and have sex.
A Brooklyn witness who helped liberate members from Lev Tahor says the group has a “distorted interpretation of Judaism, especially in child marriages.”
“Nothing in this cult is unique or creative, especially before the arrival of Nachman, who is a sociopath,” said the source, who asked not to be named.
Levy further points out that in 2014 the group had problems with the Canadian authorities in Quebec so 300 members were forced to relocate to Ontario.
A year later the group relocates them to Guatemala, where Levy says they lived in tents on a land purchased by the cult.
Life there was hard and Levy’s father died of disease in 2016 – but it was all very secret and Levy did not know the exact cause. None of the group members were treated in hospitals. He says he had 10 siblings and their mother could not take care of them all.
“He says he does not know what happened to his cousin but later when he contacted, the Lev Tahor group told him he had to send $ 200 to talk to him.”
He adds that nine siblings continue to live with the cult in Guatemala, except for one brother who managed to leave.
He himself already lives in Quebec, Canada and plans to go to university, probably for psychology. “I’ve been through a lot, maybe I can help other people,” he says.
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