A 40-year-old woman was arrested in Or Yehuda on Tuesday morning for pimping out her 15-year-old daughter, Israel Police reported. Together with the suspect, her partner and six additional men were arrested for taking advantage of the service offered to them and pushing the girl to use drugs.
The central unit of the Tel Aviv Regional Police conducted an undercover operation over the last few months as a result of a suspicion that the 15-year-old was being forced into prostitution.
The investigation was opened when the central unit received reports of people ordering a minor for prostitution services. Some of the orders were placed through a website and some through the girl’s mother. The investigation collected evidence to use against the suspects with the mother as the main suspect for pimping her daughter for large amounts of money, which she used for family expenses.
The investigation was made public on Tuesday morning with the arrest of the suspects, and their homes were searched for further evidence that would assist in the investigation. Police said they expect to make further arrests.
The mother and her partner were remanded until Friday, and the prosecutors will request to extend the arrests of the other suspects.
![Handcuffs [Illustrative] (credit: INIMAGE)](https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/t_JD_ArticleMainImageFaceDetect/255884 "Handcuffs [Illustrative] (credit: INIMAGE)")
The Or Yehuda Municipality revealed that the girl had been taken away from the home in order to keep her safe, but the court sent her home against the recommendation of the municipality.
“We look on the incident that was revealed this morning with great severity,” the Or Yehuda Municipality said. “The municipality has been supporting the family for years.
“A few months ago, we contacted the courts with the recommendation of welfare services and social workers in the municipality not to let the girl go back home from a setting where she was being kept safe. Unfortunately, the court decided not to accept our recommendation. The relevant people in the municipality concluded that the decision was wrong and expressed this opinion to the judge. When the girl was returned to the community, the social services and education worked to integrate the girl.
“This incident has to put up a red flag to the justice system that should be listening to the professionals who follow the families day in and day out and know their strengths and weaknesses. At the instructions of Mayor Liat Shochet, welfare and education services will continue to support the girl in any way necessary.”
Chairwoman of the Committee for the Rights of Children MK Michal Shir expressed her shock at the matter.
“For years, the girl went to school, the pediatrician and the dentist,” she said. She walked among us and no one noticed. This is what it looks like when there is no enforcement and investigation of the duty to report that falls on professionals who noticed what was happening and didn’t report it.
“What else needs to happen in order to set up someone who will be responsible for the subject of sexual abuse in Israel, someone to ensure inter-office discourse and can enforce and prevent? How much longer will we allow these incidents to happen in our country?”
She added that in the coming days, a petition signed by many MKs will be sent to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, demanding that the government set up a body of authority over sexual abuse.